A 14-year-old girl is the county’s 100th homicide of the year, Medical Examiner’s Office says
Her 8th-grade graduation was going to be Tuesday
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to its 100th homicide in the county this year, a 14year-old girl who was killed Monday night on the city’s northwest side.
The victim, identified as Tommorrow Brumfield, was supposed to graduate from the eighth grade at the FiftyThird Street School on Tuesday night, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Police did not release any information about the circumstances of the shooting, which was reported at 9:35 p.m. on the 8100 block of West Villard Avenue.
Police have identified a suspect, according to a news release.
The fatal shooting is the sixth in the city of Milwaukee in a seven-day period as another record-breaking pace for homicides continues. As of Monday, police reported 93 homicides in the city, up from 74 as of the same date in 2021, when Milwaukee broke its homicide record for the second year in a row.
The 14-year-old is the 13th juvenile homicide victim of the year, amounting to more than 13% of all homicide victims. Before a local – and nationwide – surge in gun violence began at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, juveniles typically accounted for less than 10% of homicide victims in Milwaukee, according to the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission.
In 2020, juveniles represented more than 14% of homicide victims in Milwaukee, and more than 10% in 2021, according to the commission.
Vaun Mayes, a community activist who offers resources to families of victims of gun violence, livestreamed his visit Monday night to the scene of the shooting on Facebook. With the camera trained on his own face, family members of the victim could be heard grieving off in the distance as Mayes lamented the violence occurring in the city.
“Way too many babies losing their lives,” he said. “Check in with y’all kids, man. Try to stay in tune with what they got going on, who they’re out here moving around with.”
Police and officials have directed a range of resources toward preventing youth crime and victimization by promoting summer activities for young people, increased funding toward youth mentorship and enforcing the city’s nightly curfew for juveniles. Studies have shown, however, that curfew enforcement has little impact on youth crime and victimization.
The six homicides police reported between June 7 and Monday all occurred on Milwaukee’s north and northwest sides. The victims included 18year-old Tamaris K. Smith and others between the ages of 21 and 56, according to police reports.
Police offered details of the circumstances behind just two of those incidents, which occurred about three blocks away and less than 24 hours apart from each other in the Sherman Park neighborhood.
At 7:50 a.m. Saturday, police said Marshell M. Harris, 51, of Milwaukee was driving in a car on the 3900 block of West Hadley Street when gunshots from another car struck and killed her.
At 4:05 the next morning, a suspect fired shots into a residence on the 3700 block of West Congress Street, killing Derrick Thomas, 56.
Police have not announced arrests in either incident and said unknown suspects are sought.
The number of homicide victims age 50 or older also has increased from past years. Through May, the Milwaukee Homicide Commission reported 12 such victims, compared to 14 for all of 2021.