Milwaukee Firefighter Grazed by Bullet While Treating Patient

July 06--A Milwaukee firefighter was shot overnight Sunday while he and other firefighters tended to a patient who was having trouble breathing.

The 46-year-old firefighter, whose name was not released, suffered a graze wound to the right side of his head and has since been treated and released from the hospital, according to a fire department news release issued Monday.

The firefighters were called just after midnight to the area of N. 40th St. and W. Lisbon Ave. to assist a patient.

They assessed and treated the patient and were in the process of transferring the patient to Curtis Ambulance when shots were fired from a nearby alley in the direction of the first responders, according to the news release. Several rounds also hit the ambulance.

But Police Chief Edward Flynn said it does not appear that the firefighter had been targeted.

Flynn said detectives had recovered shell casings near the scene that appear relevant to the investigation.

"The physical evidence in the case so far indicates he wasn't targeted but in all likelihood someone else several blocks away was," Flynn said.

Milwaukee police continue to search for suspects.

"Milwaukee firefighters have a difficult and dangerous job, and we are committed to serving our citizens," Fire Chief Mark Rohlfing said in a written statement.

"This incident will serve to heighten our awareness but will not stop us from providing needed emergency medical care to our citizens."

The shooting came at the end of a deadly holiday weekend that saw six people killed in homicides, including a 14-year-old boy who was fatally shot Friday night shortly after Milwaukee's lakefront fireworks.

Rohlfing said his department joins with the mayor and police department to demand "a stop to the senseless gun violence that is causing so much pain and suffering in our city."

The firefighter and firefighting crew will continue to receive support for any physical and psychological effects, the news release said.

The shooting prompted the Milwaukee Professional Firefighters' Association Local 215 to call a news conference, where the union's president said the "city is in crisis."

"We are not trained to respond to 'shots fired' or 'fight in progress,'" David Seager said, according to prepared remarks released by the union.

"That is not our scope," he said. "We are always on the front line ready and willing for all citizens."

Seager said the department has been "systemically dismantled," losing staffing and the decommissioning of several pieces of equipment, and he called on Mayor Tom Barrett and Common Council to "take up funding the Milwaukee Fire Department fully."

Barrett released a statement later Monday, describing the shooting as a "brazen and outrageous criminal act" and saying his "thoughts and prayers" were with the firefighter and his family.

Responding to the fire union, Barrett said his administration has worked with the Fire Department "to maintain staffing levels that continue to provide excellent response times. No budget action has closed a fire house."

He said his office would continue to work with department officials to improve safety for firefighters and emergency responders.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call police at (414) 935-7360.