Gunfire broke out on the 1300 block of Keeler Avenue in Beloit around midday Sunday, sending three separate police agencies converging on the residential street. No injuries were reported, but investigators say the case remains open days later with no charges yet filed.
Police were dispatched to the scene at 12:17 p.m. on August 16, according to emergency dispatch logs cited by WVBO-FM. As reported by the Beloit Daily News, both City of Beloit police and Town of Beloit police responded to the shots-fired call, and the Rock County Sheriff's Office took a person of interest into custody at the scene. No arrests or charges had been announced as of the newspaper's report.
The three-agency response reflects how Wisconsin law handles overlapping jurisdiction in Rock County. Under Wisconsin Statute § 66.0313, officers executing mutual aid retain concurrent jurisdiction, which is why city, town, and county law enforcement can act jointly on the same active scene, per a legal policy overview hosted by TeamDynamix. The 1300 block sits near Prairie Avenue in a neighborhood made up largely of single-family homes built during the 20th century, according to property records aggregated by Redfin.
A Familiar Pattern of Daytime Gunfire
Sunday's incident was not an isolated one. Two weeks earlier, on July 31, Beloit police responded to another mid-day shots-fired call near Euclid Avenue and Eighth Street around 1:20 p.m., a report that led to the arrest of two juveniles on attempted homicide charges, according to CBS 58's report. The same station notes that the Keeler Avenue investigation comes early in the tenure of Police Chief Schonella Stewart and her newly appointed deputy chiefs, following several recent mid-day gunfire incidents in Beloit residential neighborhoods this summer.
Stewart has led the Beloit Police Department since December 1, 2025, when she was sworn in as the city's first female police chief after a 19-year career with the Oak Park Police Department in Illinois, per Police1. In March, the Beloit Police and Fire Commission appointed two new deputy chiefs under Stewart — Paul Kane over the Patrol Division and Anthony Correa over Support Services — restructuring command leadership, according to a report from MyStateline.com.
What Charges Could Look Like
No charges have been filed in connection with the Keeler Avenue shooting, and it remains unclear whether weapons or spent casings were recovered at the scene. Wisconsin Statute § 941.20 classifies recklessly endangering safety with a firearm as a Class A misdemeanor, but discharging a firearm into an occupied building is a Class G felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, according to a legal analysis published by Van Severen Law Office. Whether any charges will be referred to the Rock County District Attorney remains an open question.
Beloit police have handled several other high-profile cases in recent days. Earlier this month, Beloit officers helped locate and arrest a 20-year-old suspect within city limits as part of a multi-county homicide investigation before transferring custody to Rock County authorities. That same week, Beloit police filed felony armed carjacking charges after two men allegedly held a knife to a victim's neck during a home invasion on Shirland Avenue.
Community Context
Beloit, which sits directly on the Wisconsin-Illinois state line in Rock County, recorded a population of 36,657 at the 2020 census, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. The adjacent Town of Beloit has 7,721 residents. Demographic data compiled by World Population Review puts the city's median household income at $62,663, with a 14.97% poverty rate.
The investigation into Sunday's shooting remains active, and police say they will release additional information as it becomes available. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Beloit Police Department through non-emergency dispatch at 608-757-2244. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Greater Beloit Area Crime Stoppers at 608-362-7463 or through its online tip form.
