Appleton killing: A veteran officer kills a person after a bar fight escalates to gunfire.

APPLETON - A police officer involved in a fatal shooting early Sunday morning is a 28-year veteran of the Police Department and is wellknown on College Ave., where the shooting occurred.

Lt. Jay Steinke fatally shot a male who had a gun at Jack’s Apple Pub, 535 W. College Ave., Appleton Police Chief Todd Thomas said during a news conference Sunday afternoon. He stressed that the information he presented is preliminary and that investigators were getting “conflicting information” from some people involved.

Thomas did not take any questions at the news conference, saying he didn’t want to affect the investigation and wanted to ensure the department was “factual and not fast with the information that we get out to the public.” Among the unanswered questions is whether Steinke is on administrative leave, which is the typical protocol after such an incident.

“It appears that Lt. Steinke encountered an active shooter situation and used his firearm to stop a threat in an extremely dynamic and chaotic situation,” Thomas said. “This is a tragic incident that all of us wish never occurred.”

Steinke often works foot patrol on College Ave. on the weekends and is popular among those who frequent the downtown entertainment district.

Officers were on the sidewalk outside the bar when people started running out of the establishment about 1:40 a.m. saying that there was a man inside shooting, Thomas said. Steinke went into the S. State St. entrance, saw a male with a gun and fired his weapon. He then sought cover outside the building, Thomas said.

A group of officers then went into the building to help anyone still inside and aid the person who was shot by police. He was taken to a hospital and later died.

Police have not said whether the person killed was a juvenile or an adult. They are still working to identify him, Thomas said Sunday afternoon.

Two men inside the bar were also taken to the hospital, Thomas said. It appeared that one man had a gunshot wound in his arm, while the second man suffered a shoulder injury, “but was not struck by gunfire,” Thomas said. No officers were injured.

It was unclear Sunday how many times Steinke fired his gun or how many times the person who later died was shot. Police have not said how the two other people got injured.

According to preliminary information, Thomas said, the shooting grew from an encounter at the bar in which one person shot his gun at least once at another person. Then, the other person wrestled the gunman as bar patrons ran out of the building, according to Thomas.

He said police secured the scene immediately and kept as many patrons in the area as possible.

Green Bay police were contacted to investigate the shooting. Wisconsin law requires that an independent agency investigate deaths that result from the action or inaction of an officer. Under an interagency agreement, Green Bay police have investigated “several” of Appleton’s officer-involved deaths, Thomas said previously.

Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider also has been contacted, he said.

Green Bay police have the gun, and “several” witnesses have been interviewed, Thomas said.

“Investigators will try and locate additional witnesses, process the evidence recovered and review any security and body camera video,” Thomas said.