MPD: Officers shoot 2 people, unborn child dead following armed carjacking in downtown Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- According to the Milwaukee Police Department, an officer shot two people and an unborn child is dead following an armed carjacking and pursuit on Wednesday, June 20.

Around 2:23 p.m., officers tried to stop a vehicle near 17th and Vliet. The vehicle was wanted in an attempted carjacking near Broadway and Clybourn, as well as a carjacking at Jackson and Clybourn. The driver led police on a chase that went onto I-43.

The ensuing investigation shut down both directions of I-43 for more than six hours.

At a news briefing Thursday evening, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said, "This is unacceptable. There's no reason why all these particular young people are in possession of firearms."

Norman said that situation should not have happened. "Parents, what is going on with your children? People in our community, how are we helping to keep our in positive behaviors?"

The SUV had 6 teens inside between the ages of 15 and 18. Police say it was stolen.

Treasjha Keys heard the gunshots. She told us there were two distinct firearms, describing the sounds like, "The single was like 'pow, pow, pow,' and the automatic was like '[sound]' And that was that."

Keys said, "Probably like two minutes into me walking, I hear shots. And then I look over to the side of the white fence and I see the white truck."

Police say the car drove into a construction area near West Vienna.

Near Keefe, it was blocked by a cement truck. MPD said officers told the driver to stop and commanded suspects to come out.

But they said commands were ignored. The driver started backing up and hit a squad car, according to MPD.

One officer was behind the vehicle. Another officer fired at the vehicle, hitting two suspects.

The two suspects that were shot are an 18-year-old Milwaukee female, who is facing life threatening injuries, and a 17-year-old Milwaukee male with serious injuries. Police say the 18-year-old female was pregnant, and the baby did not survive. The suspects were taken to a local hospital.

Initially, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed with CBS 58 that two people died in the incident, but MPD says the unborn child was the only person who did not survive.

The other suspects are a 15-year-old female, 16-year-old male, 17-year-old male, and an 18-year-old female. These suspects were transported to a hospital for non-fatal injuries.

Treasjha told us she often hears gunshots in that area, but rarely in the daytime. "I definitely was nervous and scared. I ducked down and I ran off."

Police say they found one gun in the car.

No officers were injured. The officer who discharged their weapon was placed on administrative leave, per department policy.

The West Allis Police Department will lead the investigation, according to MPD.