MILWAUKEE — The family of a 23-year-old man who was shot and killed Saturday night at a gas station on 27th and Burleigh gathered at the scene Sunday to grieve the loss of their loved one.
His mother identified the man as Lashont Stewart. While she was too distraught to go on camera, she shared that her son was going to become a father soon, his life taken before ever getting to meet his baby.
His family believes Lashont was working as a security guard at the gas station when the shooting occurred. Milwaukee Police say he died at the scene and no one is in custody for his death.
As the family released balloons and created a vigil near the entrance of the gas station, Vaun Mayes and his organization, Community Task Force stood by to provide support.
"People are still not in a good place, mentally, and emotionally. Our city is not in a good place," said Mayes.
Two hours before Lashont was killed, and less than three miles away, a 19-year-old woman was fatally shot near 66th and Lisbon. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office identified her as Leah Davis.
Milwaukee Police have arrested a suspect.
Milwaukee is on pace to break another record when it comes to homicides. Each of the past two years the city has broken previous records.
"It just calls for us to do more us as the residents, the city, the citizens, the organizations, the leadership - we all need to do more and we all need to do better, and the onus is on us on how long this will last," said Mayes.
These two homicides add to the string of violence happening Saturday night. Milwaukee police say from Saturday through overnight Monday, they responded to 18 shootings in which three people, including a 13-year-old girl, were killed. At least 21 people were shot during that time span.
"We have to do what we can to ensure that we don't make it to beyond the record number we're already seeing," said Mayes.
MPD data from Friday shows Milwaukee is at 62 homicides before this weekend. In the same time period last year, the city was at 42.
As of Monday Milwaukee County has recorded 71 homicides so far this year.
