A suspected bank robber was shot and killed by law enforcement officers Friday following a high speed chase reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour. The victim was suspected of holding up the Exeland branch of the Dairyland State Bank in Sawyer County. Sawyer County Law Enforcement officers have a second suspect in custody and were looking for a third suspect who fled Birchwood Police on foot.

Bank robbery suspect killed after high speed chase

Luke Klink

A suspect in an Exeland bank robbery was killed in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officers Friday after a high-speed chase.

The chase reached speeds of 100 miles per hour and ended with officers ramming the suspect vehicle and after numerous shots were fired through its windshield.

The name of the victim -- a 50-year-old Rusk County male, according to a law enforcement official at the scene -- was not being released as of early Friday evening.

Yellow police tape was wrapped around the suspect vehicle and several law enforcement vehicles involved in the chase, which ended on U.S. 8 about one mile west of Bruce.

"We think this scene [on U.S. 8] may be connected to the bank robbery in Exeland," said Rusk County Chief Deputy Gary Hahn.

The Exeland branch of the Dairyland State Bank was held up at about 2:30 p.m. Friday.

An officer from the Birchwood Police Department spotted the suspect vehicle and began pursuing it, according to a press release from the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department.

It also read, "Two individuals fled from the vehicle in the Deer Lake area of southern Sawyer County. The Birchwood police officer chased the individuals on foot and took one of them into custody. The other individual on foot fled into the woods. An extensive search of the area is currently being conducted by the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Department and other supporting Departments with the addition of the Wisconsin DNR and the Wisconsin State Patrol.

After the two individuals fled from the suspect vehicle, the vehicle continued traveling south into Rusk County."

The suspect in custody was transported to the Sawyer County Jail and is being held there.

One officer reported the suspect fired at him during the chase.

Ladysmith Police Chief Dean Meyer said the suspect was shot after showing a gun to officers after the crash.

Involved in the chase and investigation were the Wisconsin State Patrol, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Rusk County Sheriff's Department, Ladysmith Police Department, Barron County Sheriff's Department, Sawyer County Sheriff's Department, FBI, Rusk County Coroner, Rusk County EMS and Birchwood Police Department.