Wis. Sheriff's Deputy Fatally Shot; Suspect Later Found Dead

A St. Croix County Sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed Saturday night, authorities said. A suspect in the case was later found dead.

The shooting occurred at about 6:15 p.m. when the deputy responded to a report of a drunk driver in a ditch, according to a Wisconsin Department of Justice press release. The deputy reported shots fired at the scene.

The deputy sustained a gunshot wound and was taken to a local hospital, and died there.

“The involved individual fled and was later found deceased in a wooded area with a gunshot wound,” the press release said. There is no threat to the community.

At about midnight Saturday, a law enforcement procession that included Minnesota and Wisconsin agencies transported the deputy’s body to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to the Minneapolis Police Department’s Facebook page.

The justice department’s Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating, assisted by the Wisconsin State Patrol, the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratories and others.

This was the third western Wisconsin law-enforcement officer to be fatally shot while on duty within the past month.

On April 8, two police officers were killed during a traffic stop in the Barron County community of Cameron. The assailant, who was the subject of an arrest warrant and a welfare check, was killed during a gunfight with officers from Cameron and Chetek.

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