Milwaukee, Wisconsin: 7-Year-Old Shot on Halloween in Washington Park, Teen in Custody

A 7-year-old child was shot and wounded in Milwaukee early Saturday, and a 16-year-old is in custody, in the second shooting of a young child in the city in a week.

Milwaukee police said the shooting happened around 1:15 a.m. on Saturday in the 2200 block of North 41st Street, near West Garfield Avenue, in the Washington Park neighborhood. The child suffered gunshot injuries and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Police did not release the child's name or condition, and they did not say what led to the shooting.

A 16-year-old is in custody in connection with the shooting. Police said criminal charges will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. The teenager has not been named, and the investigation is continuing.

Police repeat a safe storage warning

In announcing the arrest, the Milwaukee Police Department reminded the public to keep firearms out of the hands of children and to properly store and secure them. Officers did not say where the gun in Saturday's shooting came from.

Neighbors ask how it happened again

By Saturday evening, neighbors in Washington Park were asking how another child in the city had been shot. "How does a 7-year-old get shot?" neighbor Tony Hopson told TMJ4. "I don't know what the circumstances were, but it doesn't make a difference."

Hopson said the shootings affect the whole neighborhood, and he called for more community resources, including gun safety education, gun locks handed out by city leaders and firearm safety classes. "Instead of more policing, I think we need more solutions, more resources for the people," he said.

Neighbor Tarrance Collins urged gun owners to secure their weapons. "If you're a gun owner, just do right by the community. Lock your gun up, keep it in a case, get a trigger lock," Collins said. Collins said he would love to see children out trick-or-treating in the neighborhood on Halloween, but families do not feel safe doing it.

Second child shot in a week

Saturday's shooting came less than a week after a 4-year-old girl was shot and killed in a Milwaukee home. On October 24, a 6-year-old obtained a gun inside a home on the 2700 block of North 53rd Street and shot his 4-year-old sister, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office identified the girl as Jurnee Scales Walker on October 26, and prosecutors charged a 16-year-old sibling in that case with neglecting a child, where the consequence is death, and with possession of a dangerous weapon. The family told TMJ4 the children had been playing "cops and robbers" when they got hold of the gun, and said they believed the firearm had been stored securely.

Police said the investigation into Saturday's shooting continues, and no further details have been released.