5-year-old shot and killed near North 45th Street and West Concordia Avenue in Milwaukee
A 5-year-old boy was shot and killed on the west side Tuesday, the second young child in as many days to die in southeastern Wisconsin in a shooting.
He's also at least the eighth child to have been shot in Milwaukee since the end of March.
The Milwaukee Police Department is still investigating the fatal shooting, which occurred in the 3200 block of North 45th Street.
Two neighbors who spoke with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said they were told the boy got a hold of a gun and accidentally shot himself. Police have not confirmed that account.
Milwaukee police have said the boy was shot right before noon and did not disclose whether anyone was in custody.
Elder Malcolm L. Hunt Sr. of Least of These International Ministries Inc., who was at the shooting scene on Tuesday, urged gun owners with children in the house to lock up their firearms.
"If you keep these guns locked up, and out of reach of children, this would never happen," Hunt said.
On Monday, a 5-year-old from Kenosha died from gunshot wounds after he was dropped off at Froedtert South Kenosha Medical Center around 1:30 p.m.
Rash of violence against children
Last year, the All People's Church hosted a concert to honor young people murdered in the city during 2018, when six children died from homicide and four of those children were fatally shot.
Since the end of March this year, at least eight children in Milwaukee have been injured or killed by gunfire.
On March 29, a 7-year-old girl was shot while sitting in a car outside a home in the 4600 block of North 28th Street during a confrontation between two men. Prosecutors say the man who shot the girl sexually assaulted her earlier that morning and the confrontation began when the girl told her mother about the assault. The girl survived.
On April 16, an 11-year-old girl was struck by a bullet that went through a window of a home in the 2900 block of North 44th Street. The girl's injuries were not life-threatening.
And on April 18, two girls, ages 13 and 16, and a 14-year-old boy were shot in the 4600 block of North 36th Street. Their injuries were not life-threatening.
On May 16, a 6-year-old boy was critically injured after being struck by bullets that pierced a car in which he was sitting.
And on June 6, a 3-year-old boy suffered a gunshot wound on the north side.
Contact Talis Shelbourne at (414) 223-5261 or tshelbourn@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @talisseer and Facebook at @talisseer.