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Wisconsin firefighter shot and killed while responding to medical emergency

14-year veteran of the Appleton Fire Department killed in the line of duty

Image source: ABC News video screenshot

A Wisconsin firefighter was killed in a shooting while responding to a medical call. The shooting left three others, including a police officer, injured.

Paramedics rushed the 14-year veteran of the Appleton Fire Department to a hospital where he later died, officials said in a statement.

Officials have not released the name of the fallen firefighter or the name of the officer who was injured.

What happened?

First responders were called to a medical emergency about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Valley Transit bus station in downtown Appleton.

Paramedics were treating the person at the scene when the shooting occurred.

"The incident escalated into shots being fired," Meghan Cash of the Appleton Police Department said, WBAY-TV reported. "It was a very quick scene. It was things ... we had to get people to the hospital quickly. So we're just happy we could get them there and get them the medical attention they needed."

Police are still trying to determine what led up to the shooting. It's not immediately clear whether police took any suspects into custody but there was no ongoing threat to the community, according to a statement.

Were there witnesses?

A woman who lives across the street from the bus station told the news station that she heard the gunshots.

"I looked up. I heard a pow and I thought it was the lawnmower firing. I heard it again. I looked up because you could see the bus stop from my bedroom window, looked at the tree. I saw the guy shoot a female and she went down. And another shot was fired and there was another male and he went down and I saw the shooter flee," Tori Mourning told WBAY.

The woman said she screamed for her children to "get down."

"I screamed through my house that those are gunfire and everyone get down," Mourning said, "So I ran, and by the time I got to the top of my house to the bottom my kids all ducked down."

What else?

Firefighters lined the streets to honor the fallen hero during an overnight procession.

Emergency vehicles escorted the firefighter's body in a flag-draped coffin to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office.

Funeral arrangements for the firefighter are still pending.

The condition of the injured officer isn't immediately clear. The officer remains in a local hospital where he is recovering, police said.

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