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An armed robbery suspect was fatally shot and a Milwaukee police officer was wounded Thursday night during a foot chase and an exchange of gunfire on Milwaukee's northwest side, police said.

The shooting occurred about 8:30 p.m., shortly after a 9-year-old girl was shot and critically wounded in a separate incident on Milwaukee's north side, according to Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn. The girl was hit while inside her home, while a gunfight raged in the street outside, the chief said.

The chief spoke with reporters about 10:35 p.m.

According to Flynn, officers responding to a report of an armed robbery at an auto parts store near N. 76th St. and W. Mill Road encountered a masked gunman exiting the business.

A foot chase ensued during which the gunman fired at pursuing officers, who returned fire.

One officer was struck in the chest, Flynn said. "His life was saved by his body armor."

Two other officers continued to chase the suspect, who fired again at them. They then shot the gunman, who was pronounced dead at the scene, the chief said.

Flynn said the injured officer initially didn't realize he had been hit but suffered "significant contusions."

The injured officer is a 38-year-old man with six years on the Police Department.

The two officers who shot the armed robbery suspect will be placed on administrative duty pending completion of an investigation into the shooting, he said. Officials from the state Department of Justice were on the scene, as is routine with fatal shootings involving police officers, Flynn said.

The girl was shot just before 8:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of W. Meinecke Ave. when two groups began shooting at each other, Flynn said.

The girl was inside a nearby home and was struck by a bullet that pierced a wall. She was in critical condition late Thursday, Flynn said.

"It's been a stressful night for our officers; its been a bloody night," Flynn said.

"It's a miracle that our officer is still alive and it's a tragedy that the little girl is suffering through no fault of her own."