Milwaukee police shot and killed a man suspected of being involved in a homicide April 13, after authorities said he crashed the vehicle he was driving and fired at officers pursuing him.
The police shooting occurred in the area of South 35th Street and West National Avenue after officers chased a man in a vehicle tied to a homicide from earlier in the day on the city’s south side. The 31-year-old man was taken to a hospital and later died, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said at an evening press conference.
Officers located the suspect’s vehicle around 4:47 p.m. and attempted to pull him over, but the man fled, Norman said. Police chased and he later crashed into other vehicles on 35th Street, injuring a 34-year-old who was taken to the hospital with non-fatal injuries.
When the man exited the vehicle, he opened fire at officers, with eight officers returning fire and striking the man, according to the police department. Two guns were recovered from the scene of the police shooting, Norman said.
Officers who fired at the man were placed on administrative leave, as is customary following police shootings.
The police chase and shooting occurred after officers sought the man for a morning homicide and an afternoon report of gunshots, Norman said.
The homicide occurred around 5:30 a.m. on the 700 block of West Mitchell Street and a 27-year-old was killed. Officers identified a vehicle associated with that homicide and sought it, Norman said.
In the afternoon, police received a report of gunshots being fired on the 1700 block of North 35th Street and the vehicle was seen there, Norman said. It’s currently unknown if the reported afternoon gunshots led to any injuries, Norman said.
Norman said officers had identified other people involved with the shootings but did not have other details to add April 13.
This shooting is the third police shooting in Milwaukee this year.
The Milwaukee Police Association, the union for rank-and-file members, said on social media the man fleeing officers and the subsequent shooting represented the “split-second decisions” officers have to make. The statement contrasted the shooting with a press conference earlier in the day, where officials like Norman and Mayor Cavalier Johnson highlighted a decline in violent crime to start 2026 in Milwaukee.
“Statistics can measure trends over time, but they do not capture what happens in real time on our streets – the danger, the volatility, and the split-second decisions officers are required to make when confronting violent offenders,” the union’s statement said.
Police shootings are automatically reviewed by the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team, a collection of local police agencies that investigate police shootings. The Wauwatosa Police Department is the lead investigative agency in the April 13 shooting.
Video of the shooting will be released to family of the victim within 48 hours and to the public within 15 days, according to department policy.
This story was updated to add new information, a video and photos.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 8 Milwaukee police officers return shots, killing man tied to homicide
Reporting by David Clarey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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