A man is dead after a carjacking, car chase and shooting in Johnson Creek that began in Pewaukee, where a man on his lunch break saw the whole incident and dialed 911 when he saw the man was naked and armed.
Matthew Vahl was making some phones calls during his lunch break at the Meadowbrook Park & Ride off I-94. When he looked in his rearview mirror he knew he had to act.
"I think it was the craziest situation I think I ever observed," Vahl said.
Vahl was sitting in his truck when he spotted a man in a Buick who he thought was jamming out to his music.
"His music was going pretty good," Vahl said.
While watching the man, Vahl made sure his car doors were locked. But then he went back to his phone calls.
"I looked in my mirror and I saw a naked man," Vahl said.
He immediately dialed 911. He saw the man start to pound on car windows.
"I could clearly see that he was forcing somebody out of their car and he did have a handgun in his hand," he said.
Because of Vahl's description, police were able to find the man on I-94 and started chasing him. The Jefferson County Sheriff Department and the Johnson Creek Police Department also joined in. At one point, stop sticks were thrown on the highway and deflated the tires.
"As the vehicle gradually slowed down, the operator waved the gun out of the window towards officers on several occasions," said Waukesha County Sheriff Eric Severson.
Severson said the man exited I-94 into the Arby's parking lot. He said the suspect got out with a gun and started running towards the restaurant.
Over police radio you can hear: "Don't let him in that restaurant."
Then seconds later an officer announces, "Shots fired."
"The suspect was ordered to stop. He failed to do so on multiple attempts and which time he was shot by a deputy from the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department and a police officer from the City of Delafield Police Department," Severson said.
Vahl said he thinks the officers did the right thing because he was sure the man was going to hurt someone eventually.
"I'm glad everything ended up being the way it ended up being. Nobody else innocent getting hurt," Vahl said.
Vahl spoke to with the person who was carjacked and said they were shaken up by what happened.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department has taken over the investigation into the shooting. Both officers are on administrative leave.
