UPDATE: Tactical Team Called in to Subdue Man Threatening to Shoot Neighbors, Police

The Menomonee Falls Police Department called in a tactical enforcement team Monday night to subdue a 39-year-old man threatening to shoot neighbors and police.

The sequence of events began at 8:09 p.m. when police received a call about from a neighbor who was having a dispute with the suspect who lives on the 17200 block of Devonwood Road, said Police Chief Anna Ruzinski. The caller told police that the suspect came out with a shotgun after a verbal dispute. 

While on the the phone with the caller, the suspect called the Menomonee Falls Fire Department and admitted to coming out of his home with a shotgun. He told the dispatcher he was heavily armed and would shoot his neighbor if he came back outside, and made several threats to use his weapons against officers before disconnecting the call. 

The man is a long-time Menomonee Falls resident with a criminal record. The man resisted arrest and threatened to shoot MFPD officers in the past.  

At approximately 9:30 p.m., the man who made the initial report called police again and said the suspect was pointing a rifle in the direction of his home.

Ruzinski said the Waukesha County Tactical Unit was then called, and they set up around the man’s house. The Waukesha County Sheriff Department, the MFFD and the MFPD set up a command post just off of Shady Lane and Appleton Avenue. The Milwaukee Police Department Tactical Team responded as back-up. 

When tactical team was in position and were about to move into place to contain the home, the suspect walked outside. Officers could not tell in the darkness if the man was armed, and he was ordered several times to stop moving. However, the man refused to comply and became combative. Officers sent out the police canine and the man was subdued and taken into custody around 11:15 p.m. 

Ruzinski said the suspect sustained a small laceration to his head, but was treated on scene. A Sheriff's Deputy also received a small bite from the dog.

Ruzinski said they later learned police department received another call Monday night from a different person who reported being threatened by the same suspect. The suspect also threatened to shoot this person. Ruzinski said police will investigate this incident as well.

“Everything worked as well as we could have expected. We’re happy with the outcome,” Ruzinski said.

Police finished and disassembled from the scene at approximately 11:30 p.m. The MFPD is continuing their investigation and will be seeking charges with against the man with the Waukesha District Attorney.