Man shot, killed by Racine police; wanted for domestic abuse incident
Racine officer-involved shooting, man dead
A Racine man is dead, shot and killed by police. Officers say the man was involved in a violent domestic abuse incident. They also say he had a gun.
RACINE, Wis. - A Racine man is dead, shot and killed by police. Officers say the man was involved in a violent domestic abuse incident. They also say he had a gun.
It happened near 17th and Franklin just after 11 p.m. Sunday night, May 4, 2025.
Neighbors tell FOX6 they were just relaxing; some were getting ready for bed.
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Racine police shooting near 17th and Franklin
A Racine police officer shot and killed an armed man near 17th and Franklin on Sunday night, May 4.
That's when, all of a sudden, they heard a boom, and then gunshots.
"Very, very scary, like I was sleeping and woke up to the gunfire," said Kayla Kramer.
"Heard a big old crash and right after it was like five or six gunshots," said Patti Raney.
Raney says her first thought was to run and check on her kids.
"I’ve got three little ones, they’re all under the age of three, so it was kind of terrifying," Raney added.
Sequence of events
What we know:
Officers say the incident started while trying to arrest a man.
They say the suspect was wanted in connection with a violent domestic abuse incident.
Police found the man, but say he tried to drive away.
Investigators say the man made it about a block and a half away to 17th and Franklin. Officers say the man crashed.
Scene near 17th and Franklin
"It was just freaking crazy, it literally sounded like it was right out front," said Raney.
Neighbors say he hit a parked car.
Officers say the man got out of the car and began to raise a handgun.
That's when police say an officer shot the man who died on the scene.
Neighbors ran outside to see what had happened.
"We ended up congregating out here, everybody was out here," said Raney.
"When we realized that there was a body out there and then my anxiety then shot through the roof even more," said Kramer.
Scene near 17th and Franklin
Use-of-force incidents in Wisconsin
Big picture view:
Data shows Wisconsin is no stranger to use-of-force incidents.
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The Wisconsin Department of Justice says there have been 275 reportable incidents from January 2021 through December 2024. 70 of those resulted in death.
This is the second officer-involved shooting in Racine in the last two weeks, but it's the only one resulting in death.
All officers involved are placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating.
Wisconsin DOJ dashboard
Dig deeper:
The Wisconsin Department of Justice tracks use-of-force deaths and injuries.
You can click here to learn more and view the dashboard.
The Source: The information in this post was provided by the Racine Police Department and the Wisconsin Department of Justice.