The Associated Press
ROTHSCHILD, Wis. — Authorities are seeking a man who shot at a Rothschild police officer early today during a routine traffic stop.
Police Chief William Schremp says the Marathon County Special Response Team, along with officers from Rothschild and other departments, are scouring the west side of Rothschild near the Wisconsin River for the man.
He says the man being sought is believed to be a 22-year-old from the Marshfield area.
A Rothschild police officer pulled over a Ford Explorer with an expired registration shortly after 2:30 a.m.
Schremp says the driver emerged from the vehicle with a long rifle, raised the gun and started shooting at the officer. The chief says the officer, who was not hit, fired back.
Rothschild police Captain Dean Albrecht says the gunman got back into the vehicle and sped north. He says the officer pursued the vehicle for about a mile, and the Explorer then turned around and fled south.
Albrecht says a Kronenwetter police officer deployed a stop stick, a device that punctures a vehicle’s tires. The captain says the Blazer drove over the spikes, continued for about two blocks and stopped. He says the driver then fled on foot west toward the Wisconsin River.
Albrecht says the man is believed to have been injured because authorities found blood in the vehicle.