Overview
- A 4-year-old, Jurnee Walker-Scales, died after a 6-year-old in the same home obtained a gun and accidentally shot her, a finding confirmed by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner.
- A separate shooting left a 7-year-old wounded and hospitalized after an overnight incident in the Washington Park area, and a 16-year-old was taken into custody in connection with that case.
- Milwaukee police said their investigation of the most recent shooting is active and that criminal charges related to it will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.
- Authorities emphasized safe firearm storage after both incidents and neighbors urged city leaders to distribute gun locks and offer firearm-safety classes to help keep guns out of children’s hands.
- City crime data show overall nonfatal shootings and homicides are down year to year, but these child-involved shootings have intensified calls for targeted prevention and mean juvenile-court processes will shape how the cases proceed.