Man dead after being shot by Germantown police on Kennedy Middle School roof

UPDATE: Officer Involved Critical Incident Investigation in Germantown, Wis.October 24, 2023 Contact: DOJCommunications@doj.state.wi.us

GERMANTOWN, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating an officer involved critical incident in the Village of Germantown, Wis. that occurred on the evening of Monday, October 23, 2023. At approximately 6:36 p.m., officers with Germantown Police Department responded to a report of a subject acting erratically in the parking lot of Kennedy Middle School. The male subject, with no known relationship to the community or school, was driving a vehicle with out-of-state plates that broke down and was at a nearby car repair business. The subject was acting erratically at the car repair business and departed there on foot. When the subject arrived at the school, he was observed acting erratically in the parking lot and attempted to enter the school, but the entries were locked and secure and he was unable to enter the building. Upon arrival of law enforcement at the school, the subject was able to climb onto the roof of the school and two officers pursued on foot. The subject discharged a firearm at the officers while on the roof, and they returned fire. A third officer also discharged their firearm. The subject sustained injuries and first aid was rendered, but he died on the scene. No other members of the public or law enforcement were injured during the incident. This is believed to be an isolated incident and there is no ongoing danger to the public. All interactions with the subject occurred outside of the building. At the time of the incident, approximately 50-70 students were inside the school.     The involved officers have been placed on administrative leave, per agency policy. DCI is leading the investigation and is assisted by Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, the Wisconsin State Patrol, a DCI Crime Response Specialist, and members of the DCI Digital Evidence Unit. All involved law enforcement are fully cooperating with DCI during this investigation. DCI will review all evidence and determine the facts of the incident and will turn over investigative reports to the Washington County District Attorney when the investigation concludes. Please direct media inquiries regarding the officer involved critical incident to Wisconsin DOJ. Find this press release on the Wisconsin DOJ website here [lnks.gd].

Hello, GSD Staff and Families,

This message comes to you heartful and full of emotion. At this time, we want to reaffirm to all that last

night’s incident was an isolated event. There is no threat to school or community safety. The details we

can share at this time are as follows:

At approximately 6:36 p.m., officers with the Germantown Police Department responded to a report of a

subject acting erratically in the parking lot of Kennedy Middle School. Upon arrival of law enforcement,

the subject climbed onto the roof of the school, and two officers pursued on foot. The subject discharged

a firearm at the officers while on the roof, and they returned fire. A third officer also discharged their

firearm. The subject sustained injuries, first aid was rendered, but the subject died on the scene. No

other members of the public or law enforcement were injured during the incident. All interactions with

the subject occurred outside of the KMS building.

At the time of the incident, approximately 70 students and approximately 20 adults were inside the

school. Parents were reunited with those students at MacArthur Elementary throughout the evening last

night. All students, staff, and community members returned to their homes safely.

Thank you to the staff that were at KMS for implementing our trained safety responses quickly and

efficiently. Students, families, staff, and law enforcement also played a role in assuring everyone’s safety.

After meeting with the Department of Justice Crisis Team this morning, the Pupil Service Staff, and the

administrative team have developed a plan to return to school. I want to share with you how we will

reaffirm a sense of safety with staff and students.

KMS students will not have school tomorrow, Wednesday, October 25th, as there is no access to their

building until further notice. County Line, MacArthur, Amy Belle, Rockfield, and Germantown High

School will resume their normal schedules tomorrow, Wednesday, October 25th, with normal bus routes.

This afternoon, Principals at all six schools are connecting with their teachers and support staff to walk

through the process of welcoming all students back to school. We will hold parent-teacher conferences at

both the elementary and high school levels as scheduled for this week.

Please watch for further communications from your school principal and school counselors providing

resources and guidance in response to this incident. If you do not find it fit to send your child to school

tomorrow, please contact your school, and we will excuse their absence.

Thank you for your continued care, support, and compassion during this unfortunate event in our

community