Armored car guard dead following July 13 armed robbery
Updated: 4:26 p.m. on July 25, 2023
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee police report that the armored car guard who was shot has died from his injuries.
Milwaukee police arrested a 31-year-old Milwaukee man in connection to the robbery on Monday, July 17. On Tuesday afternoon, MPD confirmed a 28-year-old man was also arrested.
Published: 10:43 a.m. on July 13, 2023
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- An armored car guard was shot multiple times during a robbery outside a bank on the city's northwest side early Thursday morning.
Milwaukee police said they were called to a shooting at the North Shore Bank location at the corner of N. 80th St. and W. Capitol Dr. around 8 a.m.
Responding officers found a 55-year-old armored car guard suffering from gunshot wounds. Police said another guard, a 26-year-old man, fired his gun at the suspect, who ultimately ran from the scene.
Peggy Studenec, who lives near the bank, told reporters she heard six gunshots from inside her bedroom. The shots were easy to hear on a surveillance video she provided.
Studenec said she looked out her window and saw the guard lying on the ground with others attending to him.
"It was bad," she said. "He was laying there. He was alert, and he was talking, but he was rolling in pain. He was just in so much pain."
Surveillance video from a nearby business showed the suspect, wearing a black mask, a powder blue hoodie and black pants.
The recordings, obtained by CBS 58, show the suspect then running up the alley to a getaway car after the robbery and shooting.
The suspect can be seen dropping stacks of money all over the grass, then frantically scooping some of it up as the driver takes off.
The crime scene felt familiar to Studenec because something very similar happened in January. Robbers targeted the same bank in the same manner: hitting an armored truck as it was parked next to an ATM.
The suspects in that robbery didn't shoot anyone, and they got away with about $100,000.
Milwaukee police said they were looking for unknown suspects in both the January robbery and Thursday's incident.
"I'm more anxious now than I ever was," Studenec said. "I can't afford to move anywhere else. I mean, I'm comfortable here, and I really don't want to move, but I don't know. It's kind of pushing me toward that right now."
8 shootings in 18 hours
The armed robbery incident marked the eighth reported shooting in Milwaukee over a span of 18 hours going back to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
Between those shootings, a total of nine people were wounded, and two of them died.
At a 'Newsmakers' event downtown, a CBS 58 reporter asked Mayor Cavalier Johnson about the run of gun violence. Johnson renewed his call for the legislature to pass stricter gun laws.
"Those folks who are shooting people in neighborhoods, those folks who are attempting to rob armored trucks? They obviously shouldn't have their hands on a gun. Obviously," Johnson said. "So, we need the state's help in order to make sure that happens."
Republican legislative leaders have repeatedly rebuffed calls for new gun laws. Instead, they've said district attorneys and judges need to do a better job of ensuring convictions and lengthy sentences for those who violate gun laws already in place.
"They still somehow have access to a gun, so that's the margin," Johnson said. "That's the area where we need to work on. I want to find a way to make sure those folks who should not have access to guns never get them in the first place."
During the event, Johnson noted a 30% decline in homicides compared to this time last year.
According to data provided by Milwaukee police, there have been 81 homicides in Milwaukee this year, as of July 12. Through that same date last year, there had been 114. There were 86 homicides through July 12, 2021. Milwaukee has set homicide records in each of the last three years.
Non-fatal shootings have continued to rise, however. MPD data show 461 non-fatal shootings so far in 2023. Through July 12 of last year, that number was 433, and it was 430 in 2021.
A third incident at North Shore Bank
Thursday's incident was the third robbery this year involving an armored truck outside a Milwaukee North Shore Bank branch.
In May, an armored truck guard shot and killed a suspect who tried to rob the truck at a North Shore Bank at S. 58th St. and W. Forest Home Ave.
Susan T. Doyle, Senior Vice President of Retail Banking for North Shore Bank, released a brief statement in response to Thursday's robbery.
“The safety and wellbeing of our employees, customers, and our business partners is our top priority. We are cooperating fully with the authorities as they investigate this matter.”
Studenec said she believed the bank made its ATM more of a target for robbers when it moved the machines to the back of the property, alongside the alley.
"They had their ATMs in the front of the bank all this time, and now they moved them to the back," she said. "And I thought that was a dumb move right away."
Doyle's statement did not address any specifics about Thursday's incident, but a bank spokesperson said she would relay Studenec's concerns to bank management.
Studenec said she was still a bit shaken up as of Thursday afternoon, but added her biggest concern was for the wounded guard's health.
"I feel bad for the guy that got shot," she said. "I mean, I feel really bad for the guard, and I hope he's OK."
Police did not have an update on the guard's condition as of Thursday evening. MPD added anyone with any information is asked to contact investigators at (414) 935-7360, or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-Tips or P3 Tips App.