FOX CROSSING, WI (WTAQ) – A man wanted on a slew of charges ranging from drugs to burglaries to possessing stolen weapons and eluding police was shot and killed by officers in Fox Crossing Tuesday night. But we still don’t know much about who he is – or what exactly happened.
“The name of the subject is not being released at this time, pending notification of next of kin,” Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz says.
Matz read to the media from a prepared statement during a press conference Wednesday, unable to provide much further information when prompted.
Winnebago County Sheriff’s officials say that the man, who had multiple felony warrants, was found Tuesday night and a SWAT team was deployed in the 800 block of Lynch Avenue and Grove Street. During the incident, neighbors were told to stay in their homes and shelter in place.
The man was wanted for his involvement in a meth-dealing case in Grand Chute, hitting a natural gas line and running from police in Neenah, and possessing a stolen handgun linked to burglaries in Brown County.
Shortly after the arrival of the SWAT team, the shooting occurred.
“Within minutes of the SWAT Team’s arrival, the armed subject put into motion a series of events that led to the Officer-Involved Shooting and his death,” Matz reports, “Statements are taken from everyone because of their involvement, but certainly those who were actively involved will have a much lengthier statement.”
Exactly why police opened fire hasn’t been released. But initial reports claim the suspect was armed when the SWAT Team arrived to make an arrest.
“The time necessary to complete this investigation will be lengthy as the use of deadly force involved several officers and will include the review of body-worn and squad camera video footage,” Matz says, “We have four officers involved who have been placed on administrative leave. And that’s just normal protocol.”
No officers were injured during the incident.
“Physically they’re fine, but there’s a lot of emotional trauma that occurs,” says Matz.
As required by state law, the Officer Involved Shooting is being investigated by an outside agency, the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation.
