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MILWAUKEE, June 20 (AP) — At least six teens were shot and killed Monday afternoon in Milwaukee just after Juneteenth celebrations, according to police and fire officials.
The shooting happened around 4:20 p.m., according to a Facebook Live video captured by witnesses and a bystander immediately after the shooting, local media reported.
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said six teens were shot, including a 17-year-old who may have been a shooter himself and is in custody. Police are still looking for more suspects who have not yet been identified.
The victims included four girls and two boys, aged between 14 and 19, police said.
Norman said the shooting may have stemmed from a fight between some girls and young women, but he didn’t know what sparked the altercation. The official said the wounded’ injuries varied but did not appear to be life-threatening.
“Milwaukee, what happened to our baby?” Norman asked aloud at a news conference. He noted that in the eight years since he participated in the city’s June 15 celebrations, there had been no such bloodshed.
“Parents, guardians, elders, we need to get involved and make sure the violence our kids bring to these streets stops. No pistols, no lethal weapons, it shouldn’t be in the hands of our young people.”
“It’s a recurring story, and it’s really old. Really old,” Norman said.
The violence follows a bloody weekend of shootings across the United States.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson emphasized that Monday’s Juneteenth observance itself was a safe and evolving event, calling the ensuing violence “totally, utterly unacceptable.”
“We have thousands of people here celebrating and coming together and having a sense of community. That’s a powerful thing. That’s the real story today,” said Johnson, a Democrat.
A man who identified himself as T. Jenkins told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that two women got into an argument before the shooting. A young man drew a gun and everyone dispersed, Jenkins said. He said the man carried out some shooting.
Jenkins helped a young woman with a neck injury. He said there was blood coming from the left side of her neck. “I put pressure on her neck,” he said. “I tried to keep everyone around me calm.”
A Facebook Live video taken immediately after the shooting showed at least two young people with gunshot wounds being treated by paramedics on the sidewalk.
A teenage girl or young woman received a gunshot wound to the neck, the person who filmed the Facebook Live said in the video. The Facebook user tried to comfort her crying friend who was trying to contact her mother. Only about 20 minutes after the festival officially ended, hundreds of people were still walking on the street.
Thousands of people gather on King Drive for the festival, which is held from 9am to 4pm. Streets are lined with vendors selling food and merchandise, as well as community organizations offering resources, snacks and freebies.
Music blared from stalls and food trucks, offering refreshing treats in the heat and long queues. Earlier in the day, youth dance troupes, marching bands and drill teams entertained the crowd at a parade on King Drive. Police were stationed at several points along the route.
Another vendor, Keith Caldwell, described the scene this way: “All I heard was commotion, gunfire and people screaming.”
On event safety, Caldwell spoke about the need for gun control.
“Right now, it’s like an uncontrollable situation,” he said. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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