A 15-year-old Bradley Tech High School student was pointed at with a firearm and struck with its handle outside the school during Monday's afternoon dismissal, according to Milwaukee police. The attack happened around 3:42 p.m. on the sidewalk at 700 S. Fourth St., and the suspects fled the scene before officers could make an arrest.
Video of the incident circulating on social media shows three individuals approaching the student and pointing a gun at him before striking him with the weapon's handle, according to CBS 58. Police are looking for an unknown suspect. Principal Alex Kuxhause told families in a letter that the person who struck the student was not related to the school community, and that the student was hit with what appeared to be the handle of a gun, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The student was offered medical help on scene but declined it, the newspaper reported. School staff called all remaining students back indoors as Milwaukee Police Department School Resource Officers arrived quickly and worked to locate the suspect, who had already left the area. Dismissal resumed a short time later with SROs present, and the officers are continuing to investigate, per Kuxhause.
Officers Were Already On Campus Because of a Court Order
Police officers had recently returned to Milwaukee Public Schools and would respond as needed. A Milwaukee County Circuit Court order enforcing Wisconsin Act 12, a 2023 state revenue law requiring at least 25 SROs across the district, led to their redeployment in March 2025, according to Urban Milwaukee. Officers had been pulled from MPS schools in 2020, before the state legislation forced their return.
Milwaukee police are still investigating the circumstances that led to the confrontation, and the suspect's identity remains unknown. Police are asking anyone with information to contact Milwaukee Police District 2 at 414-935-7222, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 414-224-TIPS, or submit a tip through P3 Tips.
A Campus With a History of Dismissal-Time Trouble
About Bradley Tech Bradley Tech, which sits just south of downtown in Walker's Point and serves more than 1,000 students in grades 9 through 12, was built with a $20 million gift from philanthropist Jane Bradley Pettit, per Urban Milwaukee's earlier reporting on the campus.
Statutory Exposure for Guns Near Schools
Possessing a gun on school grounds is a Class I felony punishable by up to 3.5 years in prison under Wisconsin Statute 948.605, according to the Bucher Law Group.
The incident lands amid a broader crisis of gun violence touching MPS students. Over a single 12-month stretch spanning 2024 and 2025, 23 Milwaukee Public Schools students died as a result of gun violence citywide, according to UpNorthNews.
The person who struck the Bradley Tech student has not been identified, and police continue to investigate.
