Milwaukee, WI
Gun violence down across state, including Milwaukee, report says | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Gun violence homicides dropped by nearly 17% in Wisconsin over the first eight months of 2024 compared to the same time period in 2023, according to a report by the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan policy institute.
The report, released in September, also found that gun violence victimizations, defined as all firearm-related injuries and deaths, dropped in Milwaukee nearly 20% over that same time period.
“I think this decrease is happening for a number of reasons, but one is due to community violence intervention measures that are working,” said Nicholas Matuszewski, executive director of Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, a statewide grassroots organization.
Local violence intervention efforts include 414 Life, a violence interruption program; and Project Ujima, which provides services to families and children who’ve been impacted by violence.
In addition, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley announced in late October the launch of the national gun violence program, “Advance Peace.”
‘Numbers are dropping’
Matuszewski said Milwaukee and the state are national leaders in community violence intervention efforts, citing the work of the City of Milwaukee Office of Community Wellness and Safety and also programs supported statewide through Wisconsin Community Safety Fund grants.
The Wisconsin Community Safety Fund grants provided 10 organizations, including the Alma Center in Milwaukee, with $10.4 million in funding to reduce violence stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“After the pandemic, we had a huge increase in gun ownership and gun purchases which naturally led to more gun violence,” Matuszewski said. “Those numbers are dropping now.”
While many cities cited in the report have seen gun violence return or drop to pre-pandemic levels, Milwaukee is still on pace to experience more shootings this year than in 2019, the year before the pandemic.
According to data from the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission dashboard, there were 442 nonfatal shootings in 2019. Those numbers rose to more than 750 each year from 2020 to 2023. So far this year, the city has experienced 471 shootings, according to information on the dashboard.
‘Too many shootings’
Travis Hope, a community activist who conducts street outreach on the South Side, said gun violence still occurs at an alarming rate in the city.
“Too many shootings are still happening and impacting families, communities, and especially young people,” Hope said.
According to data from the Milwaukee Police Department, there have been 119 homicides in the city so far this year, compared to 153 during the same time period in 2023 and 192 in 2022.
The number of nonfatal shootings in Milwaukee also is down significantly, with 471 so far this year, compared to 769 at this time in 2023 and 788 in 2022.
Officials address drop in gun violence in Milwaukee
During a news conference discussing the reduction in shootings, among other crimes in the city, Mayor Cavalier Johnson cited the work of the Milwaukee Police Department as one reason for the drop in shootings and other crime this year.
“The work that they do is a big factor, a huge factor, in making Milwaukee safer,” he said.
Johnson said that in addition to law enforcement, intervention efforts have also been key in reducing crime.
“When we prevent a crime through intervention, that makes each and every one of us safer,” he said.
Ashanti Hamilton, director of the Office of Community Safety and Wellness, said that while the decrease in homicides and nonfatal shootings is promising, more work needs to be done.
“Reducing violence is an ongoing process,” he said. “Sustainable change requires addressing the root causes of crime, and this means looking beyond the immediate crime reduction strategies and focusing on broader social, economic and systemic changes that contribute to violence.”
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MILWAUKEE – Lead is virtually invisible to the naked eye, but its negative impacts are hard to miss. The topic is heavy on the minds of people across Milwaukee amid a string of recent school closures due to unsafe lead levels.
What they’re saying:
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges said lead has been an issue for decades. Now, the group is trying to alleviate the issue right in people’s homes.
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“Lead, as we know, causes so many issues,” said Melody McCurtis, the group’s deputy director. “It messes with our minds, our bodies, and all of those different things.”
Concerns about lead are flowing throughout the city of Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Health Department recently identified seven schools with unsafe lead levels. Three of those schools remain closed for cleanup and renovations.
Lead filter giveaway
Local perspective:
McCurtis said she speaks from experience; she had lead poisoning as a kid. Now, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges is looking to help people lose the lead in their water by filtering it out at home.
“These lead filtration systems will help folks have some type of drinking water at home, where that means is not contamination by lead,” she said.
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On Saturday, the group hosted an event in the Metcalfe Park neighborhood. Roughly 60 people signed up to receive free filters.
“We’ll know that by hooking them up to the kitchen sink that it’s running through, being purified,” neighbor Latisha Bully-White said.
“I think it’s important because it starts off at home,” said neighbor Monifa Johnson.
Lead water filter for Metcalfe Park Community Bridges giveaway
Citywide attention
What’s next:
McCurtis said the decades-long issue needs to come to an end, and they’re pushing the city for long-term solutions while turning to filters for a short-term fix.
“You don’t want lead in the body, lead does not belong in our bodies. We should not be drinking it,” she said.
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges will be going door-to-door, McCurtis said, to get more people to sign up for filtration systems. She said they will get the filters on April 18 and teach people how to use them shortly after.
The Source: FOX6 News interviewed people at Saturday’s lead filter giveaway, and referenced prior coverage of Milwaukee Public Schools lead hazards, for information in this report.
According to the Milwaukee Police Department, one person is dead after a shooting early Saturday morning.
Police say the shooting happened around 12:21 a.m. Saturday, March 29, in the area of 54th St. and Hassel Ln.
The victim, an 18-year-old, was transported to a local hospital where they died despite life-saving measures.
Police say the shooting was the result of an argument.
The Milwaukee Police Department is investigating and is in search of unknown suspects.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milwaukee Police at (414) 935-7360 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-Tips or P3 Tips.
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Police scene near 63rd and Stark
MILWAUKEE – A teen was shot and wounded in Milwaukee on Friday night, March 28.
63rd and Stark
What we know:
According to police, a 16-year-old was shot around 8:20 p.m. and taken to a hospital.
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What we don’t know:
What led to the shooting remains under investigation, and police are looking for whoever is responsible.
MPD tips
What you can do:
Anyone with information is asked to call MPD at 414-935-7360; to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS or use the P3 tips app.
The Source: Information in this report is from the Milwaukee Police Department.
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