Attempted homicide charge filed against Superior man accused of shooting police officer

SUPERIOR, Wis. – Serious charges were filed Monday against a Superior man accused of shooting a Superior police officer, ramming his vehicle into the middle school and physically assaulting his girlfriend.

“The allegations here would tend to cause a significant threat to the community and the public at large. So the court will accept the recommendation of the state and order a $2 million cash bond,” according to Douglas County Court Commissioner Jaramy Hansen in court Monday.

Dylan Wallace

Dylan Charles-Edward Wallace, 28, of Superior made his first appearance in court Monday — one day after the crime unfolded.

Wallace is charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide and domestic abuse involving strangulation and suffocation, among other charges.

The criminal complaint said an intoxicated Wallace strangled his girlfriend after crashing his car into a snow bank near the middle school, which is when he is accused of grabbing at least one AK-47 and other weapons from his home before getting into his other vehicle — a white van — to apparently try to tow his car out of the snow bank.

But he was instead pulled over at Tower Avenue and North 37th Street by a Superior Police Officer who had been on the force for nearly four years.

Superior police vehicle window shot out by suspect, according to chief

It was during that moment of being pulled over when investigators said Wallace got out of the van and started shooting at the officer — roughly 20 rounds — striking her in the arm and in her bulletproof vest, according to court documents.

“I can’t think of a more terrifying thing. They did their job, they responded and they dealt with the situation. Anytime an officer is shot, it affects not only the officer and their family, but every member of this department in the community,” said Superior Police Chief Paul Winterscheidt during a news conference Sunday.

The injured female officer was treated and released from a hospital on Sunday.

All three officers who responded are on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol while the Wisconsin Department of Justice independently investigates.

Their names are being withheld for now.

Wallace was shot by an officer while leaving the shooting scene and before crashing into the front doors of the nearby middle school.

He was also treated and released Sunday for his injuries before heading to jail.

“The community is safe today because of the heroic actions of those officers. An officer took a bullet for the people of Superior today. I’m extremely proud of the work of this department, especially the responding officers, and I’m very grateful for the many agencies that responded with our officers without hesitation that came to superior to help us out again,” said Superior Mayor Jim Paine at the news conference Sunday.

A verified surveillance image of Wallace shows him inside the school with a rifle Sunday after the shooting.

Surveillance image of suspect in Superior middle school after shooting

The complaint said Wallace shot out lights above him while barricaded himself in a classroom before eventually coming out four hours later around 7 a.m. Sunday.

Superior Middle School was closed Monday. Students had an e-learning day. The district expects everybody to return to in-person learning Thursday.

Supt. Amy Starzecki told parents on Monday through an email that recent safety improvements to the building “proved invaluable” during the vehicle’s crash into the front doors of the middle school.

Starzecki said law enforcement confirmed the specialized security film applied to exterior glass of the school “significantly slowed the suspect’s entrance into the building.”

The building’s updated camera systems also provided essential real-time information that directly aided in the quick identification and apprehension of the suspect, according to Starzecki.

As Chief Winterscheidt said on Sunday, he can’t recall an officer being shot on the job during his 20 years with the department.

That rarity and the multiple layers of damage around this shooting — from physical to emotional — has people affected on all sides of this story.

Courtesy: Carlton County Fire News on Facebook

Superior business owner Craig Sutherland is the uncle of shooting suspect Wallace.  Sutherland posted a public statement on behalf of his family Monday.  It reads in part:

“Both my family, the victims’ family, the officer & the officer’s family were thrown into a situation none of us could have imagined. My nephew Dylan has struggled with mental health issues for years, and although we tried to support him, the help he needed never came in time.”

The statement went on to say:

“We’re trying to make sense of something that is incredibly difficult to understand. I will be here to support my brother and his family through every step of this, while also acknowledging the tremendous impact this has had on the officer, her family, and everyone connected to this tragedy.”

Meanwhile, there is a domestic assault victim who has lacked a voice in the initial reporting of this story.  Kathryn Schnepp said she is the victim of Wallace’s new domestic abuse charge related to the shooting.

Schnepp released a statement on social media Monday.  She agreed to allow FOX 21 to broadcast a portion of that statement on our newscasts.

The statement reads in part:

“I was chased, strangled, and beaten. I honestly don’t know how I managed to escape, but I’m grateful I did.”

The statement goes on to read:

“I truly believe that if the police hadn’t been where they were at that moment, I might not be here today.”

Schnepp was initially critical of the Superior Police Department on Sunday because she felt alone and not taken care of the day of the multi-incident shooting event. But she told FOX 21 on Monday that she has since had positive contact and feels her story of survival is being listened to — especially through a felony charge of domestic abuse.

This story is affecting a lot of people in different ways. While places of employment don’t usually become news in criminal cases, Ironworkers Local 512 felt it was necessary to send a statement to the media saying in part:

“Mr. Wallace was an apprentice member of our organization; however, effective immediately, he will no longer be a member of Ironworks Local 512 due to his actions yesterday morning in one of our communities. We stand by our local law enforcement partners and hope that justice is served appropriately in this matter.”

Wallace is innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.  He is scheduled to be back in court next week.