According to authorities, a 32-year-old Milwaukee police officer is in critical condition, and a 29-year-old cop sustained nonfatal injuries after a suspect opened fire on them while they were responding to a shots fired report.

The incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. on June 26 in an alley in the 2200 block of North 24th Place. Police asked the public to avoid the area until the early morning hours of June 27, citing a public safety hazard. According to the department, officers were combing the area for a known suspect who is still at large.

Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman is attending a work conference, so Assistant Chief Nicole Waldner briefed the media early Friday morning. She described the situation as “this horrible thing that has once again happened to our city.”

Both cops are guys who serve in Police District Two and have around six years of experience.

KC Tate stated that he was on his porch near the shooting location when he heard five or six rounds in a sequence, followed by the largest police reaction he has ever seen.

“You never get this many cop cars this fast in this area,” Tate, 65, remarked.

This is at least the third police shooting in Milwaukee this year. An additional officer was shot earlier this month.

The Milwaukee Police Association, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, has expressed worry in recent weeks about the department’s personnel levels. Waldner disputed those issues.

“I don’t think that would have prevented anything today,” she told me. “Because what the problem is today and every time actually… the problem is too many people have guns, so I could put an officer on every single corner and it doesn’t eliminate the number of guns in the hands of people that shouldn’t have them all over the city.”

Mayor Cavalier Johnson described it as a “sad day when officers are fired upon.”

“What are we doing to make sure our officers are safe?” he said. “Not just folks in government but folks in the community.”

Johnson told the shooter, “Turn yourself in.”

“Know that the men and women in this department, on this police force, they’re gonna find you, they’re going to arrest you and you’re going to be brought to justice anyway.”

A video posted on social media appears to show approximately 30 officers converging on a home in the 1900 block of North 27th Street late Thursday. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office rushed to nearby North 30th and West Vine streets, indicating that a fatality happened there. However, officials have not proven that the incidents are connected.