State trooper shot to death in Fond du Lac

FOND DU LAC -- A Wisconsin state trooper and a bank-robbery suspect were fatally shot late Tuesday afternoon on the west side of Fond du Lac.

The robbery suspect appears to be the same person who robbed a bank in the tiny Marinette County village of Wausaukee earlier in the day, and may have also fatally shot a man in his 60s near Wausaukee. Marinette County Sheriff Jerry Sauve said the robber and his vehicle were located in Fond du Lac, where he exchanged gunfire with a trooper.

A Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman confirmed the trooper's death in a 10 p.m. news conference near the site of the incident near the West Johnson Street Pick 'n Save store. Police did not identify any of the victims, and said no other information would be released until Wednesday.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice identified the slain trooper as Trevor Casper, and the bank robbery suspect as Steven Timothy Snyder of Michigan.

Casper, who was from Kiel, joined the State Patrol in December as a member of the 60th recruiting class, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's website. A Facebook tribute page has been established for Casper.

In Wausaukee, the man robbed the State Bank of Florence, 290 Main St., at 1:43 p.m., fired a shot from an handgun, and fled, Sauve said. Authorities raced to the area and began a search for the man, saying he was armed, dangerous and might have had an accomplice.

They were unable to locate him, but did find the body of a man along Jermac Road east of Wausaukee. The man had been shot; a vehicle from the bank robbery was found nearby.

In Fond du Lac, witnesses said they saw a man jump out of a vehicle and exchange fire with police before running behind the store.

Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Department Capt. Rick Olig said the investigation has been handed over to the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation and that local officers were told not to release any more information.

Police were searching for a man who allegedly robbed Hometown Bank at 245 N. Peters St. in the late afternoon. A report of the robbery came over the police scanner shortly before 4:30 p.m.

Dozens of bystanders crowded around the Pick 'N Save store shortly after the reports of gunfire. Mark Stevens said violence is becoming more familiar than he's comfortable with.

"It seems like every day it's all you see on the news," Stevens said. "Either Milwaukee or Madison, all these shootings with the police officers recently. But now here in Fond du Lac it's kind of surreal."

Stevens said he was walking out of Pick 'N Save when he heard what sounded like firecrackers exploding.

"(The gunshots) were so fast it had to have been a semi-automatic weapon or something," Stevens said. "I'd say maybe 10 to 15 shots."

Stevens said he saw a man fleeing police.

"The police were coming down (the street) and the guy jumped out of his car and it landed up here on the curb and he took off (behind Pick 'N Save) and the cops started trying to get everyone away from the entrance to the parking lot."

Stevens said the suspect was wearing a T-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes, and was of medium build with dark hair.

"When they said this guy is in the back of the store and they were going to lock the store down I was going to stick around," Stevens said. "There was no way. I was going to get out of it."

Chris Holzman of Fond du Lac said he learned of the robbery through Action Reporter Media's Facebook page while shopping at Pick 'N Save.

"I was supposed to be picking up dinner," Holzman said. "It's a scary thing to see this happening again. I've lived here for 29 years not thinking I'd ever see something like this again."

Eric Zurn, of Fond du Lac, said he's frustrated with incidents like these.

"This is a peaceful community," Zurn said. "People aren't going to lay down and take this anymore."

Zurn said he knows many law enforcement officers and that it's sad to see them hurt while performing their duties.

Bystander Amanda Holzman said she was listening to the police scanner with her sister when she heard vague gunshots in the background. She then overheard reports that an officer was down.

"When I heard my husband was down here and I saw my car was blocked off ... (long pause) uh, oh."