MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed the identity of the 17-year-old boy killed in a shooting in Milwaukee's Sherman Park Thursday as Roy Thomas.
Law enforcement responded around 5 p.m. to a shooting at the park's basketball court. There they found the teen dead.
Family also confirmed his identity and shared a photo of Thomas.
Malinda is Thomas's aunt who wanted to share with the world who her nephew was.
"Roy was a really good kid," Malinda said. "So many people who knew him say he was real chill, laid-back kid."
Thomas was the oldest of three and was excited about driver's education, and to graduate.
Malinda said Thomas was at the park to record a fight that was supposed to take place.
"He wasn't involved in the fight. He came to strictly record what was going on," Malinda said.
Officials said they don't have anyone in custody in connection to the deadly shooting.
Within the last week, four teens were shot in the Milwaukee area.
Debra McMillian lives near 34th and Burleigh and woke up to gunshots Wednesday morning, to only learn later that it was a young teenage girl who had been shot.
"Where are these parents, what are they doing. They let these kids be out late," McMillian said. "You should be in the house, 14-year-old, you should be in the house. You should be in the house getting ready for school."
Urban Underground Director Sharlene Moore said giving children an outlet to express themselves is crucial.
"There has to be a space provided for them to be able to tell me how you feel, talk to me about what you're going through right now, or the fear of just being outside in the neighborhood," Moore said.
Ultimately for leaders, family members and neighbors alike, something needs to change so no more children suffer at the hands of gun violence.
Milwaukee Alderman Khalif J. Rainey and Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II issued the following statement on continued gun violence in the city:
A teenager is gunned down in broad daylight in Sherman Park, just feet away from a basketball court.
Shocked and heartbroken loved ones arrive and the horror is captured by TV news cameras.
The trauma and the pain are instantly seared into our memory.
It’s sadly an all too familiar scene, as we have seen a tremendous amount of senseless violence in the
past couple of days here in Milwaukee. As of Wednesday, the Milwaukee Police Department has
reported 38 homicides so far in 2021. At least six minors, between the ages of 13 and 17, have been killed
by gun violence in Milwaukee so far in 2021. It is absolutely inexcusable, and this deadly violence is
tearing apart families across our city.
This week alone, we have seen two 17-year-olds shot and killed. We also saw two 14-year-olds shot, and
one of them unfortunately passed away due to her injuries. The simple fact that our children are not safe
to play basketball without the fear of dying is so deeply troubling and disturbing, and we cannot
emphasize enough how desperately we need change.
We cannot look for anyone else to make the change but ourselves. Nobody is going to be able to stop
this brutal violence but us. We as a community need to come together and work to protect our
neighborhoods from this brutality, or we run the risk of losing more of our precious children to gun
violence.
We are begging the community to work together on stopping this behavior. We can be the start of a new
era which condemns gun violence and actually makes an effort to stop it. So, as we conclude this
message, we invite you to look at your neighborhood and the children in it. We implore you to think of
them when you are considering how you can play a role in stopping this violence.
In a year that has already been filled with so much hatred and violence, we do not need any more
unnecessary deaths in our community. Please be the change in your community you wish to see.
