Chaos develops near police investigation

In a scene that grew chaotic at times, hundreds of people gathered outside a Milwaukee house Tuesday where police were conducting an investigation into two missing teenage girls.

Milwaukee police were investigating at a residence in the 2100 block of North 40th Street related to reports that two girls, ages 13 and 15, had been missing since Sunday.

TV stations reported that the girls’ family members said they were found safe Tuesday afternoon, but police spokeswoman Sgt. Sheronda Grant said the two had not been found as of 5 p.m.

Milwaukee police also said they were investigating a report of shots fired at the home around 11:15 a.m. No injuries were reported.

Police are also investigating whether the girls may have been victims of sex trafficking, Grant said.

“That’s something that we are looking into,” she said. “So that’s under review. However I cannot confirm that that is the case.”

Fueled by rumors spread on social media, a crowd grew near the home late Tuesday morning. Police officers stood outside the house as investigators worked inside, and some people were shouting at the officers, according to livestreams from the scene.

By mid-afternoon, the crowd had swelled to hundreds of onlookers. About 15 to 20 officers formed a line outside the house to keep the crowd

back but left after investigators completed their work.

The crowd then surged toward the house, as some in the group wanted to look for evidence that supported the rumors of sex trafficking. Some broke into the house, while others smashed the windows of a vehicle parked on the property.

Local protest organizer Frank Sensabaugh — also known as Frank Nitty — talked to many of the angriest participants to defuse the situation.

Police wearing face shields and holding batons arrived and formed lines outside the house and on nearby streets.

Groups of people also began an effort to look for the girls in a nearby residence.

Around 5:45 p.m. a fire broke out at one of the houses. Fire crews arrived to extinguish the fire.

As crews were fighting the fire, police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray at some protesters, according to Sensabaugh’s livestream. Several people appeared to be injured, and volunteer medics were treating them.

Police also reported a boy and a girl, both 14, were shot near the scene around 5:45 p.m. and suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.