WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — A woman died and an officer was shot in his ballistic vest in an apparent exchange of gunfire as police were conducting a well-being check at a Waukesha home Wednesday evening, authorities said.
Waukesha Police Capt. Dan Baumann said two officers went to the home in the Milwaukee suburb after the woman’s landlord called for a welfare check, saying she was acting erratically.
Baumann said the officers were checking the house with the landlord and as they went into the basement, the woman fired at the officers. One of them was hit but was wearing a ballistic vest “which was effective,” Baumann said. That officer returned fire, hitting the woman.
Baumann said without the vest, the officer likely would have been wounded in the upper chest area and “we potentially could have had a different story tonight.”
He added: “It was a very chaotic scene.”
The other officer was not shot, but both were taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries. Baumann said they were in good condition.
The woman was found dead in the basement, along with a firearm. Baumann said it was not immediately clear if it was police gunfire that killed her, and an autopsy was being conducted.
Baumann said both of the police officers are male. One is 44 years old with 21 years of service, and the other is 38 years old with 12 years of service. He did not specify which officer was shot or identify them or the dead woman.
