A Milwaukee police officer was shot by a man who drove off in the wounded officer's cruiser before he was apprehended Thursday.
The incident happened in the city's Menomonee Valley neighborhood when an officer was responding to a report of a man slumped over in a vehicle, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. When the officer approached the man, the man reportedly fled the scene while brandishing a gun.
Shots were fired between the officer and the suspect, and both were wounded in the exchange. The suspect was able to get into the officer's patrol car and speed off.
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While he was escaping the scene, the man collided with another vehicle. Police caught up with the suspect, and he was arrested.
At the scene of the shooting, bystanders came to the aid of the injured officer, who has over seven years of experience, according to Police Chief Jeffrey Norman.
“I would also like to thank the community members that stopped and remained on the scene to help our wounded officer," Norman said. " And I mean that, that was a very appreciative moment for our officer."
Both the officer and the 22-year-old suspect were taken to the hospital, and their injuries weren't considered life-threatening. The driver who was in the vehicle that the suspect crashed into also was taken to the hospital and is expected to be recovered.
The incident is the third time an area law enforcement agent was shot in the past two weeks. A Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy was shot during a traffic stop Wednesday by a 19-year man who later killed himself. On Jan. 13, an attempted carjacking left an off-duty Milwaukee detective shot and wounded
“There are too many people, in this community, who have too easy access to guns. Who should not have them in the first place," acting Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson. "I need for this community to wake up to the issue of gun violence."
Thursday's shooting is under investigation by the department's Homicide Division.
