September 1, 2021 – Town of Addison, WI – A 63-year old Town of Addison man is in custody this afternoon after a several hour standoff with the armed man came to a peaceful resolution a little after 11 a.m. on September 1, 2021.
The incident began just after 8 a.m. when the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting that the suspect had shot at his 60-year-old roommate with a rifle inside the residence, on CTH WW north of STH 33 in the Town of Addison. The roommate was able to escape the residence and go to a nearby farm and call 911. The victim escaped with minor injuries.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team as well as crisis negotiators were immediately called to the scene. The West Bend Police Department’s SRT team was also requested along with a second armored rescue vehicle from the Ozaukee County Sheriff. These resources were requested due to the nature of the call and the unknown whereabouts of the suspect.
The Wisconsin State Patrol responded to assist with traffic control. The Allenton and West Bend Fire Departments assisted on scene as well.
Negotiators with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Multi-Jurisdictional Crisis Negotiation Team made phone contact with the despondent suspect who said that he would “die today” and wanted the police to kill him.
Negotiators talked with the suspect for around 90 minutes before they were able to convince him to come out of the residence unarmed. He surrendered peacefully to tactical officers.
The suspect shot at the victim at least two times. He indicated that he was upset with his roommate and that he did not want to hurt him; however he figured that shooting in his direction would result in a law enforcement response. The suspect then planned to make law enforcement officers shoot him. The suspect was taken into protective custody for a mental evaluation and will face felony criminal charges. The firearm was recovered during the execution of a search warrant at the residence.
Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis, wishes to pass along his appreciation to his staff as well as all the assisting agencies that did their part, which allowed this to come to a peaceful resolution. “We appreciate the support and assistance we received from all of our public safety partners. Everyone came together and did their part which took a very dangerous and volatile situation and made it safe.”