Milwaukee leaders plead for end to gun violence, another child and pregnant woman shot Thursday

By Adam Rife

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    MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (WDJT) — More people were shot Thursday throughout Milwaukee as the city suffered a second straight day of significant gun violence.

Shootings were reported across town just as city and police leaders were discussing strategies to cut down on violence.

City leaders acknowledge they’ve made these pleas before, and they’ll continue their efforts no matter the results.

At the briefing, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said, “We are better than this. We are better than this.”

It was a passionate and painful briefing, what leaders at the top called an all-hands-on-deck moment.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson said, “It ticks me off. I am upset by it. It enrages me, each and every single time.”

Dozens of lives have been impacted.

Chief Norman said that on Thursday, “Two lives were shot, one who was pregnant, another who was a 1-year-old.”

It was a sharp increase in shootings over two days.

Ashanti Hamilton, the director of the city’s Office of Community Wellness and Safety, said, “This was predictable. We were all bracing ourselves for when the seasons changed. There was an expectation that there would be an uptick.”

City leaders say it weighs on them.

Mayor Johnson said, “I can think about my own children being in a situation like that,” before taking a long pause.

The mayor, police chief, and city leaders implored people to stop using guns to settle disputes, but they acknowledge they’ve shared these messages many times before:

Johnson said, “Put the guns away. Put them down.”

Norman said, “This is all our responsibilities.”

And they again called on the state legislature to pass tougher laws to keep guns from people that shouldn’t have them.

Johnson said, “I am continuing to call on the state legislature to do its job.” He later added, “I still haven’t seen any action there. So I’m going to keep on asking.”

Many overall statistics are trending in the right direction: so far this year, homicides are down 14% compared to last year. And non-fatal shootings, thefts, and aggravated assaults are also down significantly.

But high-profile incidents are still claiming lives.

So, leaders are appealing to families.

District 10 Alderwoman Sharlen Moore said, “We have to be able to say ‘Uh uh. What you’re doing isn’t right. Come on. Let me show you, share with you all the summer programs. What do you want to do?'”

They’re also appealing to the community.

Norman said, “I’m asking you to do more. I’m asking you to lean in as much as you can. Pour everything into your children.”

And they’re appealing to the offenders themselves.

Alderman Jose Perez, the Milwaukee Common Council President, said, “We must convince a desperate few, for few they truly are, despite the damage they can do, that they have something precious to lose.”

Hamilton said, “The lives that you are putting in the crossfire with your unwillingness to find alternatives to your conflicts are just too valuable.”

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