MILWAUKEE — Ringing in the New Year took on a new meaning for one resident in Milwaukee when he took to TikTok to show a troubling tradition that’s growing in the city.
Gunshots into the air.
“They do it every year. It happens every year. Everybody knows, if you’re from the city, you know that on New Year’s at midnight, they’re going to be shooting.”
A Milwaukee content creator who goes by the name Peezyante on a variety of social media platforms put together a TikTok video showcasing the shell casings being made by the dozens as the calendar turned from 2023 to 2024.
“What I’m about to show y’all, I’m by no means proud of,” he said in the TikTok. “But when I said I was from Milwaukee, it was a little bit too many of y’all trying to play the city. So now I got to show y’all how they get down.”
@peezyante be sounding like rebirth island outside 😭💯 #fyp #4u #peezyante #viral #Milwaukee ♬ original sound - Peezyante
For over 50 seconds, Peezyante stood outside his Sherman Park home as countless rounds were heard clear as day.
“Hundreds,” he said. “Hundreds of them. It was ammunition for days. They stocked up for midnight.”
According to the Milwaukee Police Department, its ShotSpotter System, the technology used to detect and locate gunfire, was triggered 137 times from 11:55 p.m. on Dec. 31 until 1:00 a.m. on Jan. 1. The last two years have shown more and more people are choosing to fire rounds into the air. It’s extremely concerning for Peezyante, who considers himself a responsible 2nd Amendment enthusiast.
“What makes a gun unsafe is the hands a gun is in,” he said. “Guns are not going to shoot on its own. You put it in the hands of someone who is proficient and trained or the hands of someone who don’t know what they’re doing, something bad could happen.”
TMJ4 News spoke to a Glendale family who realized the potential impacts “celebratory gunfire” can have. Tim Moore found a bullet hole less than two feet from his son’s crib on New Year’s Day.
“If I was to give some advice, educate yourself,” Peezyante said. “Bullets that go up, they come down. They have to go somewhere. Educate yourself on firearm safety so everybody around us are safe.”
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