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Officer released from
Hospital, shooting investigation continues
July 19, 2004
By Jeff Bollier and Jim Collar
of The Northwestern
An Oshkosh police
officer injured in a Saturday night shooting was released from Mercy Medical
Center Sunday, while fellow officers “narrowed down a list of suspects” that may
be responsible for the unprovoked attack.
Officer Nate Gallagher, a five-year veteran of the department, was shot in his
right arm at 10:10 p.m. Saturday while standing outside his squad car near the
intersection of Minnesota Street and West 17th Avenue, talking to another
officer. No arrests were made as of Sunday afternoon.
Officers were in the area responding to a report of an underage drinking party
in the 100 block of West 15th Avenue.
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Sgt. Steve Sagmeister said the shooting and the
party appear to be unrelated.
“This came out of nowhere, totally unprovoked,” Sagmeister said. “That really
raises the awareness in this instance.”
The Oshkosh Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics Unit conducted a
house-by-house search of several blocks surrounding the site of the shooting
into early Sunday morning.
Police later served a search warrant at a home on the 1700 block of Minnesota
Street. Police declined to say what evidence was found or how it related to the
incident. Plain-clothes police officers in unmarked cars held a presence on
Minnesota Street between 17th and 18th avenues throughout the day.
A person answering Gallagher’s home phone declined comment on his behalf Sunday
evening. Police said Gallagher, while wounded, was in good condition when
admitted to the hospital on Saturday night.
Sagmeister said no one saw the shooter or where the shot came from. No
description could be provided.
“That’s the bad thing, not knowing where it came from,” Sagmeister said. “All
anyone did was hear it. There’s no real clue as to the direction (the shot came
from) or who (fired the shot).”
The SWAT Team completed its search by 5:30 a.m. Sunday and detectives began
investigating the scene and gathering information. SWAT Team members confiscated
firearms from at least two homes in the area, but without concluding they were
used in the shooting.
The incident was the first shooting of an Oshkosh police officer in 21 years.
Oshkosh Police department officer James Scovronski was shot in the lower arm on
the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus in a shootout with a bank robber on
Jan. 20, 1983.
Terry Wesner, who lives with his wife, Pat, on the 1700 block of Minnesota
Street, said he was watching TV when he heard a single rifle shot.
“The sounds were right outside the house,” Terry Wesner said. “All I know is it
was in the block someplace. It was enough to startle you.”
Richard Discher, a resident in the 1600 block of Arizona Street, was on his way
home from work when the shooting occurred. Instead of going home, he had to go
to a friend’s home until police allowed him beyond the barricades. After two
hours, an officer escorted him to his front door by foot. No one was allowed to
drive in the area of the investigation.
The incident is shocking for such a quiet neighborhood, he said.
“I’ve lived here for 10 years, and it’s always been nice,” he said. “The people
are very nice – everyone says hello when you walk by.”
Pat Wesner agreed the incident is far out of the ordinary for their
neighborhood.
“It’s very quiet here,” Pat Wesner said. “We don’t have many kids in the area,
except when peoples’ grandkids visit.”
Anyone with information about the shooting may contact the Oshkosh Police
Department at (920) 236-5700 or Winnebago Countywide Crimestoppers by phone at
1-800-621-CASH (2274) or on the Web at
http://winnebagocrimestoppers.org/submit.htm . Crimestoppers callers remain
anonymous and could qualify for a cash reward.
The department is doing everything it can to keep its officers and the community
safe, but the incident remains a point of concern, Sagmeister said.
“When’s the last time you heard of an officer being shot at here?” Sagmeister
said.
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