This week on “In Focus,” State Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, discussed Milwaukee’s climbing homicide numbers from 2024 through 2025 and what’s behind them.

She discussed what needs to happen in Madison and at the local level in Milwaukee to reduce the number of crimes city-wide. Johnson said she believes more family involvement is part of the complex solution to make the city and state safer.

“He was just the best kid, he was so loving, that’s the biggest thing about him, he loved his family, that was everything to him,” said James Nelson.

 Homicide investigation underway in north Minneapolis after double shooting leaves 16-year-old dead

James was referring to his 16‑year‑old grandson, Cordero Montgomery Jr., also known as “Junior,” who family identified as the teen shot and killed Thursday in north Minneapolis.

James and Wendy Nelson are Junior’s father’s foster parents, and consider Junior their grandson.

James said the last text message they exchanged with him is something the couple keeps replaying. “The last thing he said was ‘I love you,’ and he said, ‘I love you more.’”

They are remembering him as a loving teenager who constantly told them how much he cared.

They said the day of the incident, Junior had been visiting a friend in north Minneapolis and was supposed to take the bus to their home in St. Paul afterward.

“All I know is they were walking, and I guess he, somebody got out of a car and started shooting, and then he ran. Junior ran down the sidewalk a ways,” Wendy said.

 Advocates sound alarm after teen is shot and killed in north Minneapolis

The family said he was shot 11 times. 

“They must have been really mad at him, or who knows. We don’t know. We got to wait till the detectives find out. It just doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Wendy said she learned about the shooting through a text message.

“All I got was ‘Please call, Junior is dead.’ So I immediately ran out of the bedroom. I was very upset, kind of uncontrollably upset, and gave the phone to James, but [it] didn’t feel real, not until I got there,” she said.

Minneapolis police said officers found Junior outside on 18th Avenue North and performed life‑saving measures, but he later died at the scene. The family said they cannot understand why anyone would do something so violent.

“Why? He’s 16, you know. He’s 16,” Wendy said. “What would he have done that deserved to die for, and get rid of the guns?”

“He was just a kid,” James said.

Flowers now lay near the space where he took his last breath.

“It’s so senseless,” Wendy said.

The grandparents said they later learned people were recording video of Cordero’s body at the scene. Wendy said they wish people would think about how they would feel if it were their own family.

James also said they were hurt by comments online.

“Yeah, somebody on Facebook said, ‘Ho hum, just another day in north Minneapolis,’ and I said, ‘That’s my grandson, and right now it is all everything, but ho hum.’” He added, “I wanted to put a name to my grandson’s death.”

James said he needed to see an image of Junior to accept what happened. When asked if he saw an image of him on the ground, he said, “I did,” and added, “I just said, I have to see my boy.” After he saw the image, he thought, “Yeah, this is real.”

Minneapolis police said a 44‑year‑old man was also shot and injured with non‑life‑threatening injuries. The grandparents said they don’t know who he is or what connection, if any, there is to Junior.

They described Junior as a smart, respectful teenager who was thriving in a school where he received one‑on‑one attention. They said he was going to be a sophomore next school year.

“He was getting straight A’s. I mean, he is really smart and very respectful. People always tell me, ‘Man, that’s a really respectful young man you have there,’ all the time, because he was just the best,” James said.

He also said Junior loved video games and was preparing to apply for a job.

Junior often stayed with them for days at a time.

“He’d come over for weekends. Yeah, he’d stay for days. He loved it so quiet over here,” Wendy said.

She said he was also affectionate. “We were leaving one day, we dropped him off, and he goes, ‘Oh no, Grandma, you need to give me a hug,’ that’s, I mean, a 16-year-old, you know, and he always hearted with a text, you know, just amazing,” Wendy said.

The family is also carrying an older grief. The Nelsons said Junior’s mother previously lost a young daughter during a surgery.

They say Junior’s mother is too devastated to speak publicly right now, and part of why they agreed to talk was to take pressure off of her.

“We have a GoFundMe for Support Cordero to help a single mother, and she’s already lost one child, James said. “It’s really, really tough,” James said.

The grandparents also spoke about mental health and the need for more support in the community.

“People need to treat mental health like physical health. That’s what I would like to get out of this, that our community would wake up and deal with mental health,” James said.

He said he wishes people would think about consequences before tragedy.

“Try and be a better person before a tragedy happens. Just think, look at other people’s consequences, look at other families’ consequences, and just try and put yourself in their place. That could be you if you keep up this on this road,” James said.

The couple also said they moved out of north Minneapolis after gunfire near their home years ago; they said they have seen firsthand how violence affects families.

For the person who pulled the trigger, Wendy had a direct message.

“Whoever you are, you, you took a 16-year-old’s life over something probably really stupid, and there’s no reason for it, you know, get rid of the guns.”

Now, they hope justice comes soon.

Minneapolis police said there have not been any arrests or updates in the case.

MPD juvenile shooting numbers

Minneapolis police data provided to KSTP shows 12 juvenile shooting victims so far in 2026, making up 17% of all shooting victims (the percentage represents the share of all shooting victims who were juveniles).

A year‑to‑date comparison shows:

• 2026: 12 juvenile victims (17%)
• 2025: 6 juvenile victims (7%)
• 2024: 13 juvenile victims (15%)
• 2023: 17 juvenile victims (14%)
• 2022: 14 juvenile victims (8%)

Annual totals from MPD show:

• 2025: 52 juvenile victims (17%)
• 2024: 41 juvenile victims (11%)
• 2023: 62 juvenile victims (15%)
• 2022: 58 juvenile victims (11%)