Two unrelated shootings tore through Milwaukee within about 25 minutes of each other Wednesday night, leaving a 29-year-old man dead near 32nd Street and McKinley Boulevard and a 17-year-old hospitalized after gunfire near 20th Street and Vliet Street. Police made an arrest in the fatal shooting but had not taken anyone into custody in the other case as of Thursday morning.
According to WISN, Milwaukee police confirmed the two incidents were not connected. The first shooting happened at about 8:55 p.m. near 20th and Vliet, close to King Park, where a 17-year-old was shot and taken to a local hospital for treatment, the outlet reports.
Roughly 25 minutes later, at about 9:20 p.m., officers responded to a second shooting near 32nd Street and McKinley Boulevard in the Cold Spring Park neighborhood. A 29-year-old man was shot and pronounced dead at the scene, per the same report. Police located and arrested a suspect in that shooting, though no additional details on the arrest have been released.
No Arrest Yet in Second Shooting
No one has been arrested in connection with the 20th and Vliet Street shooting, the report notes, leaving that case open as investigators continue to work it. The condition of the 17-year-old beyond being taken to the hospital has not been disclosed.
The back-to-back shootings land amid a broader decline in violent crime across Milwaukee this year. The city had recorded 79 homicides and 298 non-fatal shootings as of September 15, according to Milwaukee Police Department crime data cited by the station — down from 104 homicides and 391 non-fatal shootings tallied at the same point last year.
Homicides, Shootings Down Sharply Citywide
That comparison reflects a roughly 24% year-over-year drop in both homicides and non-fatal shootings, the crime data shows. Even with that downward trend, Wednesday night's pair of shootings underscores that gun violence remains a persistent problem in specific pockets of the city.
Anyone with information on either shooting can reach out through the Milwaukee Police Department, which has not released further details on a motive, weapon, or the identities of those involved in either case.
