'We need the state and federal government': Milwaukee mayor calls for action from lawmakers after weekend shootings
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson is speaking out after a violent weekend. Eight people were shot between Saturday and Sunday.
Cellphone video obtained by CBS 58 shows a man lying in the road while Milwaukee police officers perform lifesaving efforts. In another clip, officers surround two bodies on the ground. Those videos were both taken Sunday just after 1 a.m. on Water Street, an area bustling with nightlife.
Milwaukee police said a 19-year-old and 18-year-old were shot.
A 22-year-old man was killed, who family identified to CBS 58 as Dylan Jackson.
The day before, five people were shot outside the Greentree apartments on 37th and Darien. That shooting happened in broad daylight, just after 11 a.m.
According to family, 25-year-old Simeon Calvert was killed.
Police believe the shooting stemmed from an argument.
35th and Darien shooting
Milwaukee police said Monday, they have persons of interest in custody in both cases, but no one has been charged yet.
"They get into an argument, they get into a spat, a personal disagreement, and then the resolution that they bring is to take out a gun and fire on each other. That's not right," Mayor Cavalier Johnson said Monday in response to the shootings.
The mayor said he will continue violence prevention efforts alongside the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) and the Office of Community Wellness and Safety.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson
"We're going to make sure that people, particularly our young people, are engaged in positive things. Working to grow stable housing in our city. Working to make sure folks have access to good-paying, family-supporting job opportunities in our city," he explained. "All those things make a difference in violence reduction."
Johnson said too many people who shouldn't have guns have easy access to them.
He's calling on state and federal lawmakers to focus efforts on getting guns off the streets.
"I'm not saying we should go after people who are law-abiding citizens who have guns. When you've got somebody who gets into an argument, and they think the answer is to shoot and end that person, that's not somebody who should have their hand on a gun," he explained. "But we need the state and federal government to be a part of those solutions, and they're just not."
Milwaukee police didn't give details about who they have in custody related to the shootings.
No charges have been filed yet.
MPD is still looking for more information about both incidents.
They're asking witnesses to call the police department or to anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-8477.