Milwaukee police shot an 18-year-old pregnant woman, killing her unborn child, on the highway Thursday following a chase as the pursued vehicle was wanted in connection to two recent armed carjackings downtown.
Another teen, a 17-year-old boy, was also shot and injured, said Police Chief Jeffrey Norman at a news conference. It’s unclear if any of the occupants in the suspected vehicle fired shots at officers, Norman said, but a firearm was recovered inside of the vehicle.
Norman said the fatal police shooting took place around 2:30 p.m. on Interstate 43 near West Vienna Avenue. The driver of the suspected vehicle entered a construction zone where several workers were, Norman said.
The driver of the suspected vehicle used the SUV to strike a squad car twice, coming close to hitting an officer standing nearby, Norman said.
An officer then discharged his weapon striking two teens inside the vehicle, Norman said. A total of six people were inside the vehicle. An 18-year-old Milwaukee woman has life-threatening injuries and a 17-year-old boy has serious injuries, Norman said.
The two downtown carjackings occurred on the 500 block of North Broadway and the 500 block of North Jefferson Street, according to Norman.
Both carjacking victims are “OK,” he said.
All northbound and southbound lanes remain closed on Interstate 43 from Capitol Drive to Locust Street.
Maurice Greenwood, 36, was on his way home from a fast-food restaurant on the south side when he was met with gridlock near downtown.
Police diverted him and thousands of others onto Seventh Street, which runs parallel to the interstate. Vehicles, backed up bumper to bumper, inched through the north side while investigators gathered evidence just a few yards away.
“I had no idea I’d run into something like,” Greenwood said while stuck in traffic at Seventh and King Drive. “You just never know what’s gonna happen on any day of the week.”
By the time he arrived at Seventh and King, he had been in traffic for two hours. The side street traffic jam drew from nearby residents. They were unaware of what happened on the freeway below, but figured the situation was serious, given the police presence.
“This is crazy,” said Da’neesha Johnson, 22, as she walked by another taped-off section by Seventh Street. “It’s hard to feel anymore.”
Around 4 p.m., state transportation officials originally estimated two-hour delay due to the closure. Southbound traffic on I-43 was backed up to East Bradley Road in Fox Point and through the Marquette interchange downtown.
This is a developing story. Stay with jsonline.com for updates.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Carjackings leads to unborn child’s death, teen mom and another teen shot
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