A man is dead after shooting himself instead of surrendering to police near Edgar Tuesday night. Marathon County Sheriff’s Department officials say they were assisting Clark County in locating a vehicle that was involved in a shooting incident earlier on Tuesday.
Law enforcement located the vehicle between Athens and Edgar in the Town of Wein. While deputies waited for backup to arrive to perform a traffic stop, a man exited the vehicle and fled into the nearby woods. Deputies and a K9 unit tracked the man for close to an hour, and eventually located him inside the back of a semi trailer. When police found him, he was armed with a handgun. Officers directed him to put down the gun at which point he shot himself.
Marathon County officials say outside agencies are now investigating the incident because their own deputies were on scene trying to apprehend the man.
The name of the subject involved in the incident will not be released pending notification of family.
WSAU