Milwaukee Shooting: Fires, Gunshots, Looting After Police Kill Armed Suspect (VIDEOS, UPDATE)

MILWAUKEE, WI — Near the charred, melted wreckage of a BP gas station in Milwaukee, residents and reporters gathered Sunday morning to talk about the violence and unrest that befell the city overnight as several hundred people skirmished with police — setting cars and six buildings on fire and shooting guns into the air.

The gas station was the first to go up in flames late Saturday. The chaos built throughout the night after a Milwaukee police officer shot and killed an armed suspect earlier in the day as he tried to flee officers during a traffic stop.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, in consultation with Gov. Scott Walker and Major Gen. Donald Dunbar of the Wisconsin National Guard, on Sunday suggested the National Guard be called up to patrol city streets.

THE LATEST: National Guard Will Be Activated But Not Deployed in Milwaukee

“We cannot allow for a repeat of what happened (Saturday) night," Clarke said in a press statement. "I am going to utilize all available resources to accomplish that.”

By Sunday afternoon, Walker had activated the Wisconsin National Guard to be in a position to aid local law enforcement upon request.

Hundreds of police officers, bolstered by Waukesha and Milwaukee county deputies, were mobilized late Saturday and early Sunday in response to the violence.

At 2 a.m., a liquor store and a grocery store went up in flames. At 1 a.m., shots reportedly were fired at police squad cars at 41st and Burleigh streets. One car was hit by the gunfire.

Before midnight, a BMO Harris bank branch a few blocks from the shooting was broken into and set on fire. An O'Reilly Auto Parts store and a beauty supply store also were set on fire. A neighborhood grocery store was broken into and looted.

As night fell, chaos broke out in the north side neighborhood. A gas station at Sherman Boulevard and Burleigh Street was set on fire around 10:15 p.m. The gunshots prevented firefighters from getting close, police said.

The fatal police shooting Saturday afternoon set off the violence, which began with people attacking a police car and smashing the windows. A police officer was injured by a flying brick thrown through a squad car window, police said, and the officer was taken to a hospital for treatment.

In the ensuing hours after the shooting, more than two dozen police, some in riot gear, responded to the neighborhood as an angry crowd grew on North 44th Street and West Auer Avenue. Police estimate the crowds grew in size to 800 people.

The shooting took place around 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Two officers stopped two suspects driving in the 3200 block of North 44th Street.

Shortly after stopping the vehicle, both occupants fled on foot, one armed with a semiautomatic handgun. Officers pursued the suspects and shot one in a yard in the same area, according to police. The man was shot in the chest and the arm, authorities said, contrary to rumors he had been shot in the back.

Mayor Tom Barrett said police have shown an “incredible amount of restraint" in dealing with the aftermath of the police shooting. In a midnight press conference, he called on parents to do their part to get their children off the streets.

“If you love your son, call them, text them, pull them by the ears. Get them home," Barrett said.

The 23-year-old Milwaukee man who died at the scene had a lengthy arrest record, and the weapon he possessed at the scene was reported stolen in a burglary in Waukesha earlier this year along with 500 rounds of ammunition. The gun taken from him was loaded with 23 rounds.

A second suspect was taken into custody.

The officer, a 24-year-old male with six years of service with the MPD, was not injured. He will be placed on administrative duty during an investigation, which will be led by the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation.

The officer was wearing a body camera and the camera was working, reports WISN-TV.

One woman told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the dead man was "a nice good person."

"He was really respected," said Nefataria Gordon. "That's why everyone came out. They're angry."

In the evening chaos, journalists from the Journal Sentinel were chased by the crowd, and one was tackled and punched, reports the newspaper.

Three arrests have been made in connection with the violence.

Late Saturday, Alderman Ashanti Hamilton called for people to do what they could to restore peace. He promised to get information about the shooting for the community.

"Our city is in turmoil," he said. "Please allow the process to work."

The mayor and local officials planned to meet with community and church leaders Sunday morning.

Streaming video was posted to the Internet from the neighborhood where the shooting took place as residents gathered to confront police Saturday evening. They threw trash in the streets and beat on cars. Many shots were also fired. Viewers are advised profanity can be heard on these videos.Streaming Video Services

photo credit: Milwaukee Police