Trooper, bank robbery suspect, motorist killed in Wisconsin

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin State Patrol trooper died in a shootout that also killed a bank robbery suspect who sheriff’s officials believe fatally shot a motorist earlier in the day.

The shooting occurred Tuesday evening in Fond du Lac, in eastern Wisconsin, Fond du Lac Police Chief William Lamb said.

“Both the trooper and the suspect were killed in the exchange of gunfire,” Lamb said late Tuesday. He said no other suspects were being sought.

The man was suspected of robbing the State Bank of Florence in Wausaukee, about 130 miles to the north, around 2 p.m., Marinette County Sheriff Jerry Sauve said in a statement.

The man fired his handgun inside the bank and robbed it of an unspecified amount of cash, then fled in a bank employee’s vehicle, Sauve said.

Less than an hour later, a man believed to be in his 60s was found fatally shot on a road east of Wausaukee, alongside a still-running pickup truck, according to the sheriff. Deputies searched the area and found the bank employee’s stolen vehicle. Investigators believe the suspect shot the man then fled in yet another vehicle.

The trooper spotted the suspect driving in Fond du Lac about 5:30 p.m. and followed him, Lamb said. The shootout happened shortly thereafter.

Authorities have not released the identities of the trooper, the other victim or the robbery suspect.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice is working with law enforcement from Marinette County, the city of Fond du Lac, the FBI and the Wisconsin State Patrol, on the investigation.