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Buffalo Grove woman shot on I-90/94 in Wisconsin

DEFOREST, Wis. — Deputies shot and wounded a suspect in the weekend killing of a man in a suburban Milwaukee apartment and the wounding of a Buffalo Grove woman hours later while she was traveling home with her family on a busy highway, authorities said Monday.

ABC 7 Chicago identified the woman as 44-year-old Tracy Czaczkowski.

It all began around 7 a.m. Sunday, when police in West Allis received a report of a man forcing his way into a pair of apartments.

Responding officers found 42-year-old Gabriel Sanchez fatally shot, authorities said. The 20-year old suspect also had made threats to a member of Epikos Church, which canceled Sunday evening services in Milwaukee.

The suspect and his two brothers later drove in a Chevrolet Blazer to Wisconsin Dells.

They were traveling south on Interstate 90/94 toward Madison on Sunday afternoon when a family of four — Tracy Czaczkowski, her 43-year-old husband and their children — passed them on their way back to Illinois after a weekend in the resort city.

The 20-year-old man was driving the Blazer and opened fire on the family's BMW sedan, Dane County sheriff's spokeswoman Elise Schaffer said. He shot the car twice, hitting Czaczkowski in the neck, authorities said. Another round struck a Nissan sedan, but the Florida woman driving that car wasn't hurt.

Other motorists called 911. Officers from multiple agencies chased the Blazer into Dane County, where deputies stopped the SUV with a spike strip.

The 20-year-old man then emerged from the vehicle holding a revolver. He ignored orders to drop the weapon and two Columbia County deputies shot him, authorities said.

At a news conference Monday, Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney described Czaczkowski's condition as “very critical.” He declined to provide any additional information about the family, saying they had asked for privacy.

The suspect hasn't been formally charged, and authorities have not released his name.

Mahoney couldn't explain why the man decided to attack the family, saying only that it appeared to be random and the investigation continues.

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