Police: Off-Duty Milwaukee Detective Shot Saving Victim from Carjacking Suspect

Authorities say a suspect shot an off-duty Milwaukee police detective when the officer stopped the suspect from engaging a victim whose vehicle he attempted to steal moments earlier.

The incident began at approximately 2:00 p.m. Thursday when the suspect allegedly attempted to steal a woman’s car, which her three children occupied, the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) stated in a release.

The woman, who works as a DoorDash driver, chose to remain anonymous out of safety concerns for her children and herself when speaking with WISN. She told the outlet that she cannot afford child care, so the mother had her three daughters, ages one, five, and nine, with her as she made deliveries on Thursday.

She said that she stopped for a pickup at the Shake Shack at the 200 Block of East Buffalo Street, and one of her girls needed to use the restroom, so she took her keys and went in to ask staff if they could accommodate her daughter.

“When I opened the door, they said, ‘Somebody’s stealing your car,'” she told WISN.

“My daughters were still in the car, I didn’t have a chance to get them out,” the DoorDash driver told WDJT. “They said that when he got in he heard my little one say something and said, ‘whoa’ and jumped out and left.”

The MPD stated the suspect then jumped in another vehicle and started to leave the scene. The woman found his cellphone near her car and brought it into the Shake Shack.

“I took the phone with me, [into Shake Shack] we were calling the cops to let them know that my car was just attempted to be stolen, and that I had his phone with me, we thought maybe they could track him down with his phone,” the victim recounted to WISN.

The MPD stated that the same suspect then showed up in the business.

“He was there listening,” the driver told WISN. “He realized that I had his phone, and he lifted up his shirt a little bit and started charging at me. You could see that he had a gun, and he was charging at me.”

The MPD reported: 

An off-duty Milwaukee Police Department detective intervened, announced that he was an officer and attempted to detain the suspect. A struggle ensued, at which time the suspect brandished a firearm. The suspect fired multiple rounds at the off-duty detective, striking him multiple times, and fled the scene. The detective returned gunfire.

“The most amazing thing is he’s on the ground bleeding and he still wasn’t worried about himself, he was repeating over and over ‘Idaho plates’ and the plate number,” the delivery driver told WISN 12 News.

Per the MPD’s release:

The suspect fled in a vehicle that was later observed by officers on the 2700 block of W. State Street. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle; however, the driver refused to stop and a vehicle pursuit ensued. The vehicle pursuit ended on the 3000 block of N. 30th Street. Multiple suspects fled on foot. An 18-year-old male and a 17-year-old male were apprehended without further incident.

The driver expressed her gratitude to the officer for his heroic actions.

“He truly saved all of our lives,” she told WISN. 

She was asked what she would say to the detective if she met him. 

“I would tell him, thank you, and that he’s our hero, and I hope we do get a chance to meet him,” the DoorDash driver told WISN. “My kids have made cards for him, so we’re hoping that we can meet him.”

The driver added that she had not returned to work since the incident. 

“I don’t feel safe in Milwaukee,” she explained.