A 47-year-old was shot and killed Friday near 20th Street and Highland in Milwaukee, and a 25-year-old was arrested at the scene in connection with the shooting. The victim suffered fatal injuries and died where the shooting happened, while the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office now has to decide whether to file charges against the person taken into custody.
According to FOX6 News Milwaukee, Milwaukee police were investigating the fatal shooting as of Friday, and that investigation remained ongoing. The station reported that the 25-year-old arrested at the scene was connected to the shooting, though it's not yet known whether that person will face formal charges once prosecutors complete their review.
No further details about what led to the shooting, the identities of those involved, or the weapon used have been released, and none of those facts could be independently confirmed. The case adds to a running list of shootings in Milwaukee this fall, including a deadly double shooting earlier in the month on the city's north side.
A Second Shooting Investigation Still Open From Earlier This Month
Just a week before the Highland shooting, Milwaukee police were also searching for suspects in a separate fatal and nonfatal shooting that happened October 2 at around 2:50 p.m. in the 7100 block of North 42nd Street, according to a police statement reported by Urban Milwaukee. In that incident, police said the person who died was 20 years old, while a second victim, 32, suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Police asked anyone with information on the North 42nd Street shooting to call Milwaukee police at (414) 935-7360, or to stay anonymous by contacting Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-TIPS or through the P3 Tips App. Those same tip lines apply broadly to open Milwaukee police investigations, including the Friday shooting near 20th and Highland.
Citywide Numbers Show Violence Easing, Even As Shootings Continue
Even with these two cases still unresolved, Milwaukee's overall violent crime numbers have been trending downward this year. Homicides in the city fell 30 percent during the first half of 2026 compared with the same stretch in 2025, per Wisconsin Public Radio. The city recorded 49 homicides from January through June 2026, compared with 70 over the same months in 2025 and 62 in 2024, the outlet reported.
Nonfatal shootings were also down 28 percent in the first half of the year compared to 2025, according to the same report, which cited Milwaukee Police Department crime statistics. Part 1 crimes overall — a category that includes homicides, robberies, aggravated assaults, theft and burglary — fell 7 percent citywide during that same period. Those figures echo a broader national pattern; the report noted that murders nationwide dropped 18.7 percent from January through April 2026 compared with the same months in 2025, according to AH Datalytics' Crime Index.
The Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission tracks homicides and nonfatal shootings citywide through a public dashboard built in partnership with the Milwaukee Police Department, according to the Medical College of Wisconsin. That data is refreshed at least monthly, giving residents and researchers an ongoing look at how incidents like Friday's shooting fit into the city's broader violence trends.
For now, the shooting near 20th and Highland remains an open case, with the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office still weighing whether to bring charges against the 25-year-old arrested at the scene. Anyone with information is urged to contact Milwaukee police.
