MILTON, Vt. — The situation involving a barricaded person at 78 Main St. in Milton was resolved shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday. Officials said a Milton police officer was shot while responding to a call for a structure fire hours earlier.
Vermont State Police said that there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Officials said that the presence of first responders on Main Street was beginning to be reduced as of 11:40 p.m. By Thursday morning, the road had reopened and about four police cruisers were still at the scene.
Investigators said they were called to a home on Main Street just before 7 p.m. for a report of a fire, and when first responders and officers arrived, they were met with gunfire.
Vermont State Police confirmed that a Milton police officer was shot and is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries while responding to a report of a structure fire on Main Street in Milton.
The officer who was injured was transported by ambulance to the University of Vermont Medical Center. Multiple agencies from Chittenden and Franklin counties responded to the scene to assist.
The Vermont State Police investigation into this incident is active and ongoing. No one is in custody. Vermont State Police said that the names of the people involved will be released following notification of relatives.
According to Adam Silverman, the public information officer for Vermont State Police, this was the fourth time since the summer of 2023 that a police officer in Vermont had been seriously injured or killed in the line of duty.
“Three of those incidents have occurred just since this past December,” Silverman said. “That is a very scary and very sad and very sobering statistic that, that I think bears mentioning on a day like this.”
When asked about a possible motive for Thursday’s shooting, Silverman said it was too soon to tell.
“It’s way too early at this point to say whether anyone was targeted or not,” Silverman said. However, he did mention that law enforcement was familiar with the suspect from “previous involvements.”
Main Street was closed for several hours between Route 7 and the intersection with East Road/North Road. Residents were advised to remain in their homes and away from the area until the situation was resolved.
The Vermont State Police is managing and investigating this incident. The VSP response involves the Major Crime Unit, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Field Force Division, and special teams including the Tactical Services Unit, Bomb Squad and Crisis Negotiation Unit.
