Both suspects face attempted homicide-related charges, as well as attempted robbery with use of force and fleeing an officer, among other charges, police said. — Unsplash
The shooting of a 65-year-old man during a Facebook Marketplace transaction gone wrong led to a dramatic police chase as the suspects fled in a U-Haul truck, authorities said.
The Omro Police Department said the victim was shot during an altercation as he was attempting to sell a car through Facebook Marketplace on Monday, July 15.
The two suspects, 45-year-old Omah Brown and 27-year-old Shakierra Ray, used a U-Haul as their getaway vehicle and were “quickly located” by officers, police said.
Deputies with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office were involved in the pursuit, and they deployed tire deflation devices to shred the tires of the U-Haul, according to a news release. The deputies were joined in the pursuit by North Fond du Lac police, whose officers also successfully deployed spike strips, authorities said.
“A short time later the U-Haul was driving on nothing but rims after all tires had been flattened,” according to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office.
Dash cam video from the sheriff’s office shows an officer execute a PIT manoeuvre on the truck, spinning it in reverse.
But the driver of the U-Haul did not surrender. Instead, they drove the vehicle in reverse as they attempted to flee from police, video shows.
A deputy “nose to nose with the shooting suspects” then bumped the U-Haul. Finally, the deputy pushed the vehicle a second time, spinning it sideways until it became disabled on the side of the road, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities said Brown and Ray surrendered and were taken into custody. A loaded firearm was found in the vehicle, deputies said.
They both face attempted homicide-related charges, as well as attempted robbery with use of force and fleeing an officer, among other charges, police said.
Omro is 30 miles northwest from Fond du Lac, where the suspects were detained.
The victim in the marketplace shooting, police said, was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service