Armed robbery attempt on Milwaukee's south side leads to robber being shot

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Milwaukee police say a suspect, about to commit a crime, was shot and killed by one of his intended victims. It happened early Monday morning, September 1st near 2nd and National.

"I looked out my window, and my building was surrounded by police. When I went to the rooftop, I could see a -- you know, the coroner had the body covered over in the corner of the parking lot," Joshua Ebert said.

Police say around 5:30 a.m., four suspects were attempting to rob a group of victims when one of the victims pulled out a handgun and shot one of the suspects. The suspect who was shot died at the scene -- and the three other suspects fled.

Milwaukee police believe these suspects may be responsible for several recent robberies.

Several arrests have since been made.

"Nothing like that has really happened around here since I've lived here. I mean, little crimes her and there -- but nothing like that," Ebert said.

Jay Purdy works near where the incident happened. He says what happened doesn't alter the way he feels about what he calls a growing, thriving portion of the city's Fifth Ward.

"It's a good neighborhood. I've never seen anything bad happen down here.  I like bringing my kids down here and I feel safe," Purdy said.

"It could happen anywhere. I wouldn`t just say it was particular to this area. There`s a lot of new businesses that are coming around and, I mean, you see a lot of faces young and old, so I would never never think that a fatal shooting would happen here," Ebert said.



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