Photo by Maryam Tunio

Last night around 10 p.m. the Marquette University Police Department assisted a suburban law task force in the high-speed pursuit of a black SUV that was used as part of an armed robbery.

The vehicle sped through campus before flipping around the intersection of 24th and Wells Streets. There were five people in the vehicle, between the ages of 12-17. They were transported to the hospital and then the police station.

The car was used as part of an armed robbery, MUPD Capt. Jeff Kranz said. He added that auto theft in Milwaukee has “skyrocketed” in recent years, which led to the formation of a special task force with suburban police departments to assist.

“Members of the task force initiated the pursuit, and we assisted in controlling the scene and pursuing individuals in the vehicle who fled on foot after they crashed,” Kranz said.

The SUV struck a bystander’s car during the pursuit, and those bystanders were transported to the hospital.

“Standing on the street, I felt the wind from the car speeding past, and it was just a lot to take in. It was all happening so fast,” Amelia Troy, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, said. Troy was getting off of work at Sobelman’s at the time.