City leaders are reacting with alarm to a spate of shootings that occurred Wednesday in Milwaukee, calling for more to be done to prevent gun violence and engage youth in the summer.
Thirteen people were shot in Milwaukee on Wednesday, including a 25-year-old who died in a shootout with another man during an argument.
The rash of violence comes even as the city is experiencing a decline in homicides and nonfatal shootings compared to the same time last year.
“I’m outraged by the amount of harm that people have endured in this city because unfortunately – and I’ve said this time and again ... there are just far too many people with easy access to guns who should not have that sort of access, and they use that access and those guns to hurt people across our city," Mayor Cavalier Johnson said.
He again called for the state and federal government to do more to address gun violence.
Asked whether he was concerned a series of shootings like this could start to reverse a downward trend in 2024 compared to previous years, Johnson said he is always concerned about public safety and would continue to make sure there were opportunities for young people to be occupied in positive ways during the summer, including through programs like Camp Rise, in which youth explore career options and take field trips.
Official points to high-capacity firearms as potential issue
Ashanti Hamilton, director of the city's Office of Community Wellness and Safety, previously known as the Office of Violence Prevention, said the surge in shootings was a cause for concern and a sign that officials should look into what is driving it.
There were seven shooting incidents in total Wednesday. Four of them had more than one victim, an indicator that they could have involved high-capacity firearms, Hamilton said. It was the only common thread between the shootings he could identify.
"The access that so many people have to these high-capacity weapons is creating a huge safety risk for communities across Milwaukee," Hamilton said.
But he hoped the overall trend lines would continue to decline compared to the violent last few years.
"There was always an anticipation that this would be the busiest time of year for this type of activity," Hamilton said. "It's cyclical in nature."
So far this year, there have been 59 homicides reported in Milwaukee, compared with 70 that were reported at the point in 2023. That year, the city experienced 172 killings in total.
City data also shows there have been 273 nonfatal shootings in Milwaukee this year so far. In all, 400 such shootings were reported to police during the same period in 2023, a year that ended with 837 nonfatal shootings.
Shooting victims ranged from 4 to 47 years old
The locations of the shootings Wednesday ranged from the city's far northwest side to its southwest side. Those who were shot ranged in age from 4 and 9 years old to 47 years old.
The youngest victims were sitting in a car at a southwest-side gas station about 2:30 p.m. when they were shot and injured, along with two adults, ages 33 and 28, police said. The adults have life-threatening injuries, police said.
Milwaukee Ald. Peter Burgelis oversees the district where the gas station shooting occurred.
“The cowards who fired dozens of rounds into a vehicle full of children need to be brought to justice before more harm is done to anyone else,” Burgelis said in a statement. “No family in any neighborhood should have to endure the pain that this family has experienced.”
Burgelis said in an interview that MPD has been asking for a ban on balaclavas for about a year. Balaclavas are a type of cotton face mask designed to only expose the eyes, often worn by perpetrators of gun violence.
“I want to make sure that MPD has the tools and resources they need to do their jobs well and keep our community safe,” he added.
On Thursday, police reported yet another shooting. This time, a 20-year-old and 1-year-old were injured when they were shot from a vehicle. The shooting happened about 12:30 p.m. in the 4400 block of North 44th Street. Police said the two people shot were taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries and those responsible had not been identified.
Expert urges action on gun violence from multiple angles
The single fatal shooting Wednesday occurred at a residence in the 4000 block of West Vliet Street, across from Washington Park. Police said a 25-year-old man and a 38-year-old man shot each other during an argument. The 25-year-old died. The 38-year-old has serious injuries and is expected to face charges, police said.
Reggie Moore, director of community safety policy and engagement for the Comprehensive Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin, said it's important for people to know that the impact of a nonfatal shooting can be just as severe as a homicide.
"People don't deeply understand the impact that even a nonfatal shooting has," Moore said. "It can be life-altering, physically, psychologically and emotionally, and not just for that individual, but for the entire family, and for the entire community."
Moore emphasized the issue of gun violence is systemic and requires action from multiple directions, including continuing programs for youth and families, targeting illegal gun possession from a law enforcement angle, and creating policies on state and federal level.
And while teens are often the focus of officials' pleas to stop the violence, Moore argued adults, leaders and policy-makers have "created the conditions that our young people are surviving in."
"We have a responsibility to engage them, and to create opportunities, and to help shape a new reality where gun violence isn't the leading cause of their deaths in this country or in this city," he said.
Moore said the shootings Wednesday are an indication that leaders need to redouble efforts that been effective so far this year in reducing gun violence. Nonfatal shootings and homicides declined for the first time in 2023 after three record-breaking years.
"It truly matters what we do from here," Moore said. "We definitely need to not only stay the course, but also double down to continue to see the decline that we saw last year."
Chris Ramirez of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
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