MONROE - A man suspected of armed robbery is dead in Monroe on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
According to a press release from the Green County Sheriff’s Office, at approximately 2:09 p.m., Green County Law Enforcement agencies were notified of an armed robbery that had just occurred at a business along Wis. 11 in the Rock County Village of Orfordville. A Rock County Sheriff’s Office press release stated the incident occurred at 1:43 p.m. at Dollar General, 507 N Main St, Orfordville.
Based on video surveillance, the suspect was described as a larger white male, approximately 6’ 2” tall, wearing a black zip up hoodie, neon yellow shirt, blue jeans and white tennis shoes. The suspect was also wearing sunglasses and a facemask. The suspect displayed a black handgun and pointed it at the cashier. The suspect vehicle was described as a silver four door sedan. There were no reported injuries resulting from this incident.
Green County Law Enforcement was given a description and license plate number of the suspected vehicle that reportedly had one male occupant.
At approximately 2:38 p.m., a Monroe Police Officer located the suspect vehicle in the vicinity of Wis. 69 and Wis. 11 in the City of Monroe. When the officer attempted to stop the suspect vehicle, it fled southbound in the City of Monroe and officers pursued the vehicle to a business parking lot located along 17th Street and 12th Avenue. Upon stopping, the driver reportedly exited the vehicle, pointed a handgun in the direction of Monroe Police Officers and then turned the handgun on himself. The suspect then reportedly shot himself and, despite the efforts of law enforcement and EMS, was pronounced dead at the scene. During the brief confrontation with the suspect, no Law Enforcement Officers discharged their firearms and none reported any injuries.
According to Jeff Skatrud, Green County Sheriff, Monroe Police requested that the Green County Sheriff's Office conduct the death investigation, which is ongoing as of the time of this release. Additional information is expected to be available in the coming days.
While the situation was unfolding on 17th Street, Monroe Middle School went into a soft lockdown from 2:45-3 p.m. Principal Matt Brown sent out an email to parents at 3:29 p.m. explaining the situation.
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Good afternoon,
Student and staff safety is our number one priority at MMS, and today was a great reminder & practice of our procedures we have in place to ensure we are as safe as possible.
At approximately 2:45p, I put our building in a soft lockdown. This was based on a police safety issue in the community in proximity to MMS. I made a PA announcement to make all students and staff aware of the soft lockdown which means that:
there was a community safety issue
everyone at MMS is safe, but out of an abundance of caution…
classes would resume as normal, but no one would be allowed to enter or exit the building.
At this time, MMS admin checked all exterior doors to ensure they were locked and awaited further information. At approximately 3:00p, I consulted with Officer Quinn, our School Liaison Officer, who assured me that the community situation was clear, and MMS was clear to lift the soft lockdown. At this time, I made a PA to announce the end of the soft lockdown, resume all normal activities, and send our basketball team to their busses for the away game.
This was not a drill and unplanned, so your child may be experiencing some mixed emotions and feelings tied to my announcement. Please process the situation with your children, and reach out to me if I can be of any assistance in processing with your child tomorrow.
Thank you for your time,
Matt Brown--MMS Principal