Overnight shootings kill 2, wound 3, including child

Police seeking motive, suspects in three incidents

A series of overnight shootings left two people dead and three others wounded, including an 8year-old girl, Milwaukee police said Tuesday.

The girl was shot about 10 p.m. Monday while she was outside a residence on N. 47th St., near W. Clarke St.

Initial information shows the shooting stemmed from a dispute between two young women, Police Chief Edward Flynn said.

Then, someone called their friends “to inflict violence on the house,” he said. “Once again, a child’s caught in the crossfire.”

The 8-year-old girl was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive.

The overnight violence means the city has seen 67 homicides, compared to 71 at this time last year. The number of non-fatal shooting victims has risen slightly this year, with 341 people surviving gunshot injuries, but fewer of those victims have been children under 18, according to Police Department data. This year, 31 children have been shot and survived — 10 fewer than this time last year.

“One of our great challenges is getting our young offenders to understand that there are other ways to resolve disputes besides firearms,” Flynn said. “That’s a difficult message to get out there.”

Ten minutes after the 8-year-old girl was shot, police were called to the 4800 block of W. Congress St. and found a 55-year-old Milwaukee man with gunshot wounds. Officers performed CPR to try to save his life but were unsuccessful, according to police.

Another man was killed in a double shooting just after 11 p.m. Monday.

A 22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were shot inside a parked vehicle in the 8100 block of W. Bender Ave. after someone approached them and fired into the car. The man was killed and the woman was taken to a hospital for serious injuries, police said.

The violence continued with a shooting about 4 a.m. Tuesday in the 2400 block of W. Townsend St.

A 49-year-old man was approached by another man who opened fire, police said.

The preliminary investigation shows that an argument may have led to the shooting and the victim was taken to a hospital for injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, authorities said.

Milwaukee police are looking for motives and suspects in each of the shootings. The identities of the homicide victims have not been released, pending notification of family.

“When we look at the events surrounding last night’s shootings, not one of them makes any sense,” Flynn said.

“One of them is plausibly related to a robbery,” he said. “That doesn’t make sense but you understand it. The other ones are just much less so.”