Friday’s stabbing of Chippewa County investigator William Gray and Gray’s fatal shooting of Sharrinder Garcha, 20, of the United Kingdom started with a search for a 17-year-old Florida runaway girl, Sheriff James Kowalczyk said Saturday.
The stabbing and shooting happened at 3:54 p.m. outside of Blue Ribbon Awards Signs & Engraving, 16315 County J, Chippewa Falls.
Gray, who had several cuts to his face, neck and hand, was taken to a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
According to Kowalczyk:
The sheriff’s department became involved with a joint investigation with the Department of Homeland Security out of Milwaukee on Thursday. The investigation involved Garcha, who entered the United States in October. Garcha was what authorities refer to as a “person of interest” in a matter involving a runaway girl from Florida. The girl was thought to be in Wisconsin, and the sheriff’s department was told Garcha and the girl were at a residence in the town of Lafayette.
People are also reading…
Gray found Garcha on Friday, but did not find the girl. Gray intended to interview Garcha, who indicated he could lead Gray to the runaway girl.
Garcha was interviewed at the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office, and after that, a number of places were checked to try to find the girl.
Trying to get more information, Gray drove with Garcha into the parking lot of the Town of Lafayette business. Gray was waiting for another squad to assist him on a stop at the Lafayette residence.
While in the parking lot, Garcha used a knife to stab Gray, injuring Gray multiple times. In the struggle, Gray retrieved his handgun and shot and killed Garcha.
Kowalczyk did not say where Garcha got the knife, or whether Garcha had previously been frisked for having weapons. There is also no information available on whether the Florida runaway girl has been located, or why Homeland Security wanted Garcha checked.
The incident is being investigated by the state of Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation. It is common procedure in officer shootings for an outside agency to investigate.
The sheriff’s department was assisted by the Department of Homeland Security of Milwaukee and the Chippewa Falls Police Department.
