Violence batters entertainment district
Curfew imposed after shootings injure 21
Milwaukee’s downtown entertainment district, a space to celebrate and come together as a city, was rocked by gun violence Friday night after three shootings left at least 21 people wounded — including 17 shot in one incident.
Hours later, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson imposed a curfew in the area for Saturday and Sunday nights.
“We’re going to do something about what happened here in this neighborhood last night,” Johnson said at downtown’s Red Arrow Park. “It will not be tolerated.”
The violence hit an entertainment district that has been battered by two years of the pandemic and other high-profile incidents of gun violence, including two homicides earlier this year.
On Friday night, 11,000 people gathered at the Deer District outside of Fiserv Forum where the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal playoff.
By Saturday morning, police evidence markers, trash and personal belongings like shoes and combs could be seen along Water Street. Blood dotted the sidewalks.
“It was the perfect storm,” Assistant Police Chief Nicole Waldner said.
The curfew is from 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. for people under 21 years old. The curfew area will include parts of downtown bordered by Knapp and State streets, Vel Phillips Avenue and Broadway.
“I know you all have questions about what this was about and I’m going to be honest with you, we are not there yet. We need time to investigate. We have resources coming in around the clock.” Nicole Waldner Assistant police chief
The fine for violating curfew is $691.
Police also will be ticketing and towing vehicles, and officials are considering other options as the Bucks prepare to take on the Celtics in Game 7 in Boston on Sunday afternoon. Later Saturday, the Bucks canceled the planned watch party for Sunday in the Deer District.
“To put it simply, if you intend to loiter, if you intend to act out, cut up, if you intend to do anything that is unlawful, then my message is simple: Don’t come here,” Johnson said.
Three shootings on Friday night downtown
Gunshots sent hundreds of fans running through the Deer District about 9:15 p.m. Friday, just as the game ended.
A 16-year-old girl and two men, ages 29 and 26, were shot near the corner of North Martin Luther King Drive and Highland Avenue. A 19-year-old man was arrested.
Then, about 10:30 p.m., a 20-year-old man was shot and injured on Water Street near Highland Avenue.
That prompted an “all-city assist” meaning every available officer responded downtown to deal with the crowds and the attention from the shootings, Waldner said.
“It just drew more people to the area,” she said of the shooting.
That shooting did not appear to be connected to the third shooting which left 17 people wounded and took place at the same location, Waldner said. Five of the people who were injured were armed and taken into custody, she said.
The victims ranged in age from 15 to 47, and all are expected to survive. In total, 11 people, ranging in age from 19 to 30, were arrested and 10 guns were recovered, Waldner said. Police said they believe there are more people involved in last night’s shootings who have not yet been arrested.
The shooting involved “a couple of groups” who were exchanging gunfire “despite the incredible amount of police presence that was downtown,” she said. Officers reported bullets whizzing by their heads, she added.
“I know you all have questions about what this was about and I’m going to be honest with you, we are not there yet,” Waldner said. “We need time to investigate. We have resources coming in around the clock.”
‘Bullets were being sprayed everywhere’: Witnesses describe chaos downtown
The streets were packed with people on what felt like the first night of summer in the city.
Large crowds had swelled in the streets in what was almost a festivallike atmosphere at first that spilled out of control — complete with music blasting, clouds of smoke and people stopping traffic for impromptu dance parties.
Michael Tulsky, a student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, was inside his apartment at the intersection of East Juneau Avenue and North Water Street, when he heard gunshots near Duke’s on Water.
Within five minutes, he heard more gunfire near McGillicuddy’s and Elwood’s.
“Bullets were being sprayed everywhere,” Tulsky said, recalling watching people run from the area.
“People parted like the Red Sea,” he said. “Everyone was out of here as fast as they possibly could.”
Tulsky said he saw a vehicle nearly hit a police officer who was walking across the street toward the scene of the shooting. He said he then saw what appeared to be officers fire toward the vehicle, but Milwaukee police officials emphatically denied that account and said no officers fired any shots during the chaos Friday.
“Absolutely not,” Waldner told reporters.
Tulsky said he plans to stay inside during the next Bucks game, away from his windows, after a bullet hit the window of his friend’s apartment next door.
Another witness, Timothy Seymour, was inside Trinity Three Irish Pubs, at East Juneau Avenue and North Edison Street, when he looked out the window and saw people running.
He did not immediately realize what had happened but heard a round of gunfire about 15 minutes later and realized there had been two shootings, he said.
Bar staff pulled everyone on Trinity’s patio inside, where Seymour and his friends, and everyone waited in the bar until about 11:30 p.m. when staff sent everyone home.
Seymour, a Third Ward resident, has lived in Milwaukee his whole life and said he hasn’t seen gun violence at this level before.
“As a city, we should do better,” he said, adding: “When the city has eyes on it, like it does with the Bucks in the playoffs and everything, it’s kind of sad more so than anything.”
‘Everybody has a gun’: Alderman draws link to last summer’s violence
Last summer, violence in the Water Street area — including reckless driving, fighting and shootings — drew widespread attention and pledges from public officials to make sure the district was safe.
Police vowed to maintain a “constant presence” in the area on weekend nights and nights of Bucks home games. At the time, one bar owner told elected officials the “lawlessness that has taken over our street is nothing short of shocking and terrifying.”
In an interview Saturday morning, Ald. Robert Bauman, who represents much of downtown, said he been
hearing from condominium associations over the last month or two about their concerns over last summer's violence downtown.
“I told them very frankly, based on current conditions, I don't know why last summer's violence wouldn't reoccur,” Bauman said. “I mean, you have the same dynamics.”
“The police had told me last year and I suspect it's true again — everybody has a gun,” he added. “They're outgunned, by far.”
He also raised concerns about the “tailgating” downtown, which he described as “non-bar patrons who just sit in or around their vehicles — drink, smoke, and play music — and they're armed.”
“With all that going on again, there's no reason this would not happen. Because all the same conditions exist for it to happen — guns, lawless behavior, warm weather with the magnetic effect of a Bucks game,” Bauman said. “You almost have to pray for cold and rain.”
Bauman said he had been told police planned to staff up and have a large presence downtown, but he said he wants discussions about security perimeters around entertainment districts, weapons checks, and removing street parking in the area.
The Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District is also working on new initiatives to make downtown safer, said Katie Falvey, a district board member.
Falvey declined to provide specifics but said it likely would be similar to actions taken last summer, including talking to businesses about best practices for private security.
“Whatever is working, we're going to do more of it,” Falvey said.
‘Folks have got to speak up’: Mayor asks for help from community
As he has in the past, the mayor pledged a full response from city resources and called on the residents to do more, pleading for people with information on crime to come forward.
“If somebody pulls a trigger anywhere in Milwaukee and somebody sees something happening, then folks have got to speak up,” Johnson said.
“Because guess what, if they if they're willing to do that, in a crowd of thousands of people, downtown, with police all around, they're going to go into neighborhoods to do the same thing,” he said.
If they feel uncomfortable talking to police, residents can give anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers, the Office of Violence Prevention or by calling their local alderperson, he added.
Johnson was joined at his Saturday news conference by State Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee), Assistant Police Chief Paul Formolo, City Attorney Tearman Spencer, Falvey from the business district and Waldner, an assistant police chief. Police Chief Jeffrey Norman had traveled to Washington D.C. for National Police Week, an annual event to honor fallen officers, with other department members.
Johnson said he had been in contact with Gov. Tony Evers, who called the shootings “horrific” and a “senseless tragedy.”
“Violence is never the answer, and we will continue to support our local partners in working to make our streets and our communities safer,” Evers said.
Still, some residents are pushing for Johnson to do more. Tom and Deb Russo, who were walking their dachshund early Saturday morning along Water Street, said the shootings were “terrible” and “outrageous.”
They said if gun violence isn't curbed soon, people won't want to spend time and money downtown, and businesses could move out of the area.
“The mayor seems to be talking tough on it, but we don't see anything happening yet, but he's only been in office, what, a month?” Tom Russo said. “He says it's his number one priority, and it ought to be his number one priority.”
A few years ago, the couple moved to a condo in the Third Ward after raising their children in an Illinois suburb. They wanted to live in a “little urban city,” Deb Russo said.
“We didn't know what was in store,” she said.
Anyone with any information about the shootings is asked to contact Milwaukee Police at (414) 935-7360 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-Tips or P3 Tips App.