Five men are facing charges for throwing an explosive device at police during the Fourth of July holiday, Wisconsin authorities said Monday.
Two Milwaukee officers who were struck in the attack were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The pair, ages 40 and 45, have since been released from the hospital and are recovering at home, police said.
The incident happened shortly after midnight on July 5 while the police officers were patrolling the city’s downtown entertainment district. The attackers apparently set and threw the explosive device toward the officers on purpose, according to police.
“The detonation was so powerful that it deployed the squad car’s airbags,” the Milwaukee Police Department said in a news release announcing the arrests.
The agency initially described the device as a “powerful pyrotechnic.” Police did not immediately return a request for more information Monday afternoon.
The five suspects, whose ages have not been released, could face decades behind bars if convicted.
Gerrell Bufford, Derek Smith and Javaier Thompson were charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, use of a dangerous weapon as a party to a crime and possession of explosives for unlawful purpose as a party to a crime. Demetrius Powell and Lawrence Turner were each charged with possession of an improvised explosive device.
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