Shootings near basketball playoff game prompt curfew

Downtown Milwaukee will be under a limited curfew for the rest of the weekend and a massive watch party scheduled for Sunday has been called off after 21 people were injured in three separate shootings near an entertainment district where thousands gathered for an NBA playoff game.

In one of the shootings Friday night, 17 people were hurt when two groups started firing at each other. Three people were hurt in another shooting, and one in the third. All of the gunfire happened blocks from the arena where the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals. All of are expected to survive.

“What makes people think they can just have a shootout on a public street or in an entertainment district, whether police are there or not?” Assistant Police Chief Nicole Waldner asked at a Saturday news conference.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the city imposed a curfew for the downtown area requiring everyone age 20 or younger to be off the street by 11 p.m. for Saturday as well as Sunday — when the Bucks play at Boston in the decisive Game 7.

Meanwhile, a Game 7 outdoor watch party that had been planned just outside the arena was called off. Jeff Fleming, a spokesman for Johnson, said the team decided to cancel the event “after consultation with the city and public safety agencies.”