MILWAUKEE — More than 12 hours after a Milwaukee Police officer was shot and killed Wednesday, the south side neighborhood is still shut down while police investigate.
Some families just learned of what happened on their street as they came home to a massive police crime scene. Streets were blocked off Wednesday night near 12th and Dakota.
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“I was just at the backseat of the car, on my phone and I look up and just see police tape and the police. I have no idea what is going on,” Erman Almaraz said.
Almaraz and his family all left the area around 5 a.m. before the shooting happened. On Wednesday night, his family and others needed a police escort to get back in their homes.
Gladys Roque came home and learned an officer had been shot just four doors down.
“It’s scary. I don’t wish that on anyone,” Roque said.
People who had been home around 9:30 a.m. knew something was wrong.
“I heard a couple gunshots real fast,” Anthony Kuester said.
Milwaukee Police said officer Matthew Rittner was shot just as he and his tactical enforcement unit was about to breach a door to serve a search warrant for illegal guns and drugs.
Police arrested Milwaukee man Jordan Fricke, 26, for the shooting. Another neighbor said she knew there were problems down her street.
“There’s trouble in the neighborhood. There’s drugs in the neighborhood. Everybody knows that,” Pamela Ksionsk said.
She thought it was a good thing more police were in the area lately.
“They are trying to keep it safe,” Ksionsk said.
But no one expected their neighbor would shoot and kill an officer trying to do his job Wednesday morning.
“I think it’s ridiculous that stuff like this has to happen in our community,” an unidentified neighbor said.
