MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said Sunday “our hearts are heavy” a day after two police officers were shot to death during a traffic stop.
“”Our hearts are heavy for the Chetek and Cameron police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty yesterday. Kathy and I are praying for the officers’ families, colleagues, and the Barron County community mourning this tragic loss,” Evers posted on Twitter.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice said in a statement late Saturday that it was investigating the shooting in Cameron.
An officer from the Chetek Police Department conducted a traffic stop around 3:38 p.m. and at some point gunfire was exchanged with the motorist, the department said.
The Chetek officer and another officer from Cameron were pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect in the shooting was taken to a hospital and later died, the department said.
The names of the officers and the suspect were not immediately released.
The deaths of the officers left the village of Cameron in shock.
“It tears it apart of course. Puts it on edge,” Cameron resident Kate King told WCCO-TV in Minneapolis. “Always wondering who to trust, what will happen around the corner. It’s a frightening thing.”
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul also exprersdsed condolences.
“I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss today of two officers. I am thinking of their families and the Chetek and Cameron Police Departments at this incredibly difficult time,” Kaul said in a tweet late Saturday.
The Division of Criminal Investigation within the Wisconsin Department of Justice is leading the investigation and will submit a report to the Barron County district attorney when the investigation concludes, the statement said.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking additional information. Phone calls to the division rang unanswered Sunday, and a message seeking information could not be left because the voice mailbox was full.
The village of Cameron in Barron County is 227 miles (365 kilometers) west of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and 96 miles (154 kilometers) northeast of Minneapolis. Chetek, Wisconsin, is about 9 miles (14 kilometers) southeast of Cameron.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Cameron and Chetek Police Departments,” the Barron County Sheriff’s Department said on Facebook.
The Marinette County Deputy Sheriff’s Association said in a Facebook post: “Tonight our hearts are heavy as we send our thoughts and prayers to the Village of Cameron Police Department, the City of Chetek Police Department, the Barron County community, and the families (both blood and blue) of two officers lost in the line of duty today.”
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