Brother shot dead protecting pregnant teen sister, WI family says. ‘Act of love’

A Wisconsin man’s “heroic act of love” likely saved his sister’s life, and that of her unborn child, family and officials say.

On Wednesday, Oct. 1, law enforcement responded to a shooting in Barron and arrived to find a man dead, an injured female and a second male — the accused shooter — with self-inflicted wounds, the Barron County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The man killed was 20-year-old Tyler Sadowski, and he was protecting his sister, 17-year-old Makayla Sadowski, according to investigators and family, KARE reported. The suspect was Makayla Sadowski’s boyfriend, authorities say. He has not been publicly identified.

Makayla Sadowski and the boyfriend were both taken to hospitals for treatment, the sheriff’s office said.

Family credits Tyler Sadowski’s courage for his sister’s survival.

“In a heroic act of love, Tyler stepped in to protect his sister. In doing so, he lost his life,” family wrote on a GoFundMe page.

“Makayla, seven months pregnant at the time, was shot in the stomach. She is now in the hospital fighting for her life, while her baby boy also fights for his,” it read.

According to family, Makayla Sadowski’s boyfriend was waiting at her home and shot her and her brother when they got back from an outing, KARE reported.

Makayla underwent surgery, and her infant son has been delivered and is stable, cousin Shanay Conyers told the outlet.

According to deputies, video “involving this homicide” was shared on Snapchat.

The video prompted a local school district to release a statement, the Barron News-Shield reported.

“We have heard that the shooter … was a former student of Turtle Lake School years ago. He apparently shared a graphic video of the shooting on Snapchat, where some Turtle Lake students could have received the message and could be upset,” the district said in a release, the outlet reported. “Please talk to your children tonight about this incident. Our counselor will be available tomorrow to discuss any needs your child may have.”

Barron is a roughly 230-mile drive northwest from Green Bay.