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http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/oct04/270797.asp
Agent shot in apparent robbery attempt
Police seek two suspects in gas station shooting, two in unrelated theft
By JOHN DIEDRICH
Posted: Oct. 29, 2004
An on-duty plainclothes state law enforcement agent was shot early Friday in an apparent robbery attempt at a gas station in the 3700 block of W. Villard Ave., Milwaukee police said.
The 34-year-old agent, who was not identified, was in critical but stable condition at Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital with a single gunshot wound to the abdomen, said Inspector Steve Settingsgaard of the Milwaukee Police Department, which is investigating.
Police are looking for two suspects in the shooting. They also are looking for two other men who investigators think were stealing from the gas station in a crime unrelated to the shooting, Settingsgaard said. Investigators recovered video of the theft from the store.
The victim, who was working with other state agents on an undisclosed operation nearby, stopped at the gas station shortly after midnight to get a cup of coffee, Settingsgaard said. He was carrying his service weapon and driving an unmarked police car, he said.
As he was returning to the car, the victim was approached by two men, one with a handgun, who said it was a robbery and then quickly shot the agent, Settingsgaard said. The suspects fled on foot.
The two men apparently stealing inside the store then fled in a black Ford Explorer, pulling away with the gas hose in the vehicle, Settingsgaard said.
The wounded agent called fellow agents for help, and one arrived within a minute, Settingsgaard said.
Based on a brief statement the agent made to Milwaukee detectives, the victim didn't resist or draw his weapon, Settingsgaard said. He said it seemed like the shot was fired very soon after the duo announced it was a robbery. Nothing was stolen from the agent, Settingsgaard said.
In the past five years, two Milwaukee police officers have been shot by assailants in the line of duty, the last one in 2002, said Sgt. Ken Harris, department spokesman. Neither officer was killed.
In 2001, a Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy was shot in the leg in a courtroom. He survived.
The agent works for the Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, a state news release said. It gave no details about what he was doing when the shooting occurred. The agent lives in the Milwaukee area, Settingsgaard said.
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Just goes to show even if you are armed yet don't resist, things can still go south if you put the ball in the robber's court concerning your life. It appears the agent was lax on his situational awareness and let them get to close too fast. In this case, if he would have drawn right away, at least he would have been able to respond immediately. To draw or not to draw when faced with an armed robber is a dilemna that will haunt us all.
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Agent shot in apparent robbery attempt
Police seek two suspects in gas station shooting, two in unrelated theft
By JOHN DIEDRICH
Posted: Oct. 29, 2004
An on-duty plainclothes state law enforcement agent was shot early Friday in an apparent robbery attempt at a gas station in the 3700 block of W. Villard Ave., Milwaukee police said.
The 34-year-old agent, who was not identified, was in critical but stable condition at Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital with a single gunshot wound to the abdomen, said Inspector Steve Settingsgaard of the Milwaukee Police Department, which is investigating.
Police are looking for two suspects in the shooting. They also are looking for two other men who investigators think were stealing from the gas station in a crime unrelated to the shooting, Settingsgaard said. Investigators recovered video of the theft from the store.
The victim, who was working with other state agents on an undisclosed operation nearby, stopped at the gas station shortly after midnight to get a cup of coffee, Settingsgaard said. He was carrying his service weapon and driving an unmarked police car, he said.
As he was returning to the car, the victim was approached by two men, one with a handgun, who said it was a robbery and then quickly shot the agent, Settingsgaard said. The suspects fled on foot.
The two men apparently stealing inside the store then fled in a black Ford Explorer, pulling away with the gas hose in the vehicle, Settingsgaard said.
The wounded agent called fellow agents for help, and one arrived within a minute, Settingsgaard said.
Based on a brief statement the agent made to Milwaukee detectives, the victim didn't resist or draw his weapon, Settingsgaard said. He said it seemed like the shot was fired very soon after the duo announced it was a robbery. Nothing was stolen from the agent, Settingsgaard said.
In the past five years, two Milwaukee police officers have been shot by assailants in the line of duty, the last one in 2002, said Sgt. Ken Harris, department spokesman. Neither officer was killed.
In 2001, a Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy was shot in the leg in a courtroom. He survived.
The agent works for the Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, a state news release said. It gave no details about what he was doing when the shooting occurred. The agent lives in the Milwaukee area, Settingsgaard said.
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Just goes to show even if you are armed yet don't resist, things can still go south if you put the ball in the robber's court concerning your life. It appears the agent was lax on his situational awareness and let them get to close too fast. In this case, if he would have drawn right away, at least he would have been able to respond immediately. To draw or not to draw when faced with an armed robber is a dilemna that will haunt us all.
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