The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Police shot a man armed with a shotgun after he led officers on a chase through downtown streets, authorities say.
Police Chief Nannette Hegerty said the chase began Thursday about 6:30 p.m. when a detective in an unmarked car heard shots fired in the area.
The detective then saw a man, carrying what he believed to be a rifle, get into a car and drive away, authorities said.
Hegerty said several squad cars chased the man along city streets until he failed to make a turn and crashed.
The man then tried to escape on foot, carrying what turned out to be a shotgun, the chief said. Two officers chased the man on foot and a squad car drove toward him, blocking his path.
Hegerty said the man then turned around to run toward the officers on foot. She said he swung the shotgun when he turned around, and the two officers, believing he was going to fire, shot him several times.
Hegerty did not identify the wounded man, saying only that he was a 35-year-old Milwaukee resident.
He was taken to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Wauwatosa. Hegerty said the man was “seriously injured” with several gunshot wounds to the abdomen.
Both officers will be placed on administrative duty until an investigation of the incident is complete, police said.