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Pleasant Prairie shooting; man fires at tree trimmer, officials say

By and FOX6 News Digital Team
Published  October 23, 2024 10:43am CDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX6 News Milwaukee

Pleasant Prairie shooting, man fires at tree trimmer

Pleasant Prairie police arrested a man they say fired a gunshot at a tree trimming contractor narrowly missing the man on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 22.

The Brief

    • A man fired a gunshot at a tree trimming contractor in Pleasant Prairie Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 22, officials said.
    • The suspect, a 55-year-old Pleasant Prairie man, allegedly threatened to kill the contractor before firing his weapon.
    • The suspect was arrested hours later after he exited his vehicle while in his own driveway.

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. - Pleasant Prairie police arrested a man they say fired a gunshot at a tree trimming contractor narrowly missing the man on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 22. 

Officials say officers were dispatched to a residence on 122nd Street just before 4 p.m. Tuesday. Officers met with the victim, the contractor, who reported being confront by a man while working at a neighboring property. The suspect threatened to kill the victim and discharged a firearm, narrowly missing him as he tried to flee in his work vehicle. The victim was unharmed and was able to alert the police.

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Officers and detectives from the Pleasant Prairie Police Department secured the scene. Based on the information obtained, a search warrant was obtained for the suspect, a 55-year-old Pleasant Prairie resident.

Abie Gowens moved to his Pleasant Prairie home decades ago for peace and quiet. Tuesday, that was interrupted.

"Last night, the place was swarming with police cars," Gowens said. "To my knowledge, we’ve never had that kind of a situation."

The fields near his property became part of a criminal investigation after someone fired at a contractor. His neighbor was the main suspect.

"The police came out here and said that my neighbor next door had shot at him with a gun," Gowens said. "Well, that’s not good."

Gowens said a contractor came to his property to trim trees near the powerlines out back.

Abie Gowens

Gowens saw the neighbor a short time later and didn't know about the shooting. He said the 55-year-old was screaming at him.

"I thought, it’s a wonder he didn’t kill me," Gowens said. "If he already shot at someone."

Assistance was requested from the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department Tactical Response Team (SWAT) to execute the warrant, as the suspect was believed to be armed and a flight risk. Around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, officers from the Pleasant Prairie Police Department, alongside members of the Kenosha County Tactical Response Team, served the arrest warrant.

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Officials say the suspect was located inside a vehicle parked in his driveway but refused to comply with commands to surrender peacefully. After several failed attempts to deescalate the situation and gain cooperation, the decision was made to deploy chemical munitions to mitigate the risk of further escalation. 

Minutes after the deployment, the suspect exited his vehicle and was taken into custody. The man was taken to the Kenosha County Jail on charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and bail jumping.

"I hope he gets a big long stretch in jail with a lesson that he needs," Gowens said. "He needs to learn from this."

The Source

  • The information in this post was provided by the Pleasant Prairie Police Department.