Man shot during Blair break-in

A man was shot after breaking into a house on the 900 block of Taft St. in Blair less than 20 minutes into the new year.

According to a press release sent by the Blair Police Department, Trempealeau County Dispatch received a call reporting a break-in at 1:16 a.m. on New Year’s Day. The caller’s husband had confronted the suspect and shot him. 

Blair police responded to the scene, finding the door to the residence was kicked in and the suspect was lying on the floor in the garage. The suspect was first transported to Gundersen Tri-County Hospital in Whitehall before being transferred to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse. Authorities have not yet released the name of the male. 

Blair Chief of Police Kent Johnson said that was the third house the subject had attempted to break into. The subject had entered another house and caused “substantial damage” while the residents were not home. He attempted to gain access to a second house, but was unable to. 

The release said there is no related threat to the public at this time.

“I’m 100 percent confident this is a single incident, an outlier,” Johnson said. “This is not something this person — I don’t believe, anyhow — is going to be repeating in the future.”

Johnson added that, as of Tuesday morning, all evidence his department had indicated that it was a lone individual responsible for the break-ins.

The Blair Police Department was assisted by the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department, Whitehall Police Department, Blair-Preston Fire Department and Tri-County Ambulance Service. 

The incident is still under investigation.