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Violent weekend in Milwaukee includes killing of 11-year-old girl

Police: 11-year-old and 5-year-old sister struck while in family's vehicle

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The words "Milwaukee Police" on the side of a building are illuminated by a line of light at nighttime
Lights shine on the outside of the Milwaukee Police Department on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. Angela Major/WPR

The city of Milwaukee had a violent weekend with multiple homicides that included the killing of an 11-year-old girl and shooting of her 5-year-old sister.

The sisters were sitting in the backseat of their family’s vehicle around 9 p.m. Saturday near North Sherman Boulevard and Burleigh Street when a vehicle approached and opened fire, striking both girls, according to Milwaukee police.

The oldest sister died Sunday at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa. The 5-year-old remains in stable condition.

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Police are searching for unknown suspects at this time.

In a joint statement, alders Khalif Rainey and Russell Stamper II said this isn’t the first time a child has been killed in Milwaukee due to gun violence, underscoring the need for Milwaukee to do better.

“We should be fostering environments for our children to learn, grow, develop and prosper,” the statement says. “To this end — no child, parent or grandparent should have to worry about the children in their lives falling victim to bullets.”

Since March 2020, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office has investigated 342 homicides. The city of Milwaukee is on track to have more homicides this year than last year, which broke a record.

There have been 144 homicides and 693 nonfatal shootings in 2021 from Jan. 1 to Oct. 3, compared to 142 homicides and 539 nonfatal shootings in 2020 during the same period, according to police.

During a press conference Monday afternoon, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said he is angry and frustrated about the violence happening in the city, and said if he knew how to stop it, he would “do it instantaneously.”

It will take more than the police and the city’s Office of Violence Prevention to handle this, he said. It’s a community issue.

“Who is the person who made the decision to fire that gun? Who is the person who gave the individual that gun?” Barrett said.

Barrett said people shy away from talking about not doing background checks before selling guns or illegal gun possession, but he would rather talk about that than another senseless shooting.

In addition to the 11-year-old’s murder Saturday, the Milwaukee Police Department is investigating the following shootings and homicides since Friday:

  • A double shooting that occurred on at 8:25 p.m. Friday in the 2300 block of North 15th Street. A 39-year-old Milwaukee man was killed. A 55-year-old man was treated and released.
  • A 16-year-old boy was shot following a robbery at 9:20 p.m. Friday in the 4500 block of West Concordia Avenue. He was treated and released.
  • A father and son shot each other around 7 p.m. Saturday in the 5400 block of North 75th Street. Both men are expected to survive.
  • A 17-year-old boy was shot at 10 p.m. Saturday in the 3500 block of West Vliet Street. He was treated and released.
  • A 45- to 50-year-old man was discovered shot to death at 10:45 p.m. Saturday at 18th and West Walnut streets.
  • A 26-year-old woman was shot at 1 a.m. Sunday in the 8700 block of North 72nd Street. She was treated and released.
  • A 29-year-old man was shot following a robbery at 7:46 a.m. Sunday in the 4000 block of North 7th Street. He was transported to the hospital for treatment.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Milwaukee Police at 414-935-7360 or Crime Stopper at 414-224-TIPS.