The family of a man killed outside a gas station this month says they're on a mission to see that it never reopens.
"With every triumph comes hardship and tribulation. And we gonna win this, for my nephew," said Shawn Moore.
Isaiah Allen was shot and killed outside a Clark station on Aug. 16 near Roosevelt and Teutonia, according to Milwaukee Police.
Prosecutors have charged William Pinkin with first-degree intentional homicide, saying he shot Allen in the back of the head after Allen left the store with a box of snack cakes. Pinkin may have been working security at the Clark, according to police.
Pinkin was supposed to make his initial appearance in court on Wednesday, but the hearing was pushed back to Sept. 8 as he's not yet been assigned a public defender.
Moore and other members of Allen's family have set up a camp outside the gas station. It's their way of mourning to remember Allen, they say, but also maintain their mission.
"We never leave. Our days run into nights, back into days. There's always someone here," said Moore.
Winning, according to Moore, is not the station being burned to the ground in another act of violence. But preventing it from making another cent.
The family is gathering signatures to try and pressure the city to revoke the owner's business license.
"We don't need entities in our communities that continually cause violence," said Vince Toney, a community member who's helping the Allen family in their signature drive.
To date, the family says they've collected several thousand signatures.
"It's a lot of people supporting this. This has been good for us," said Charisha Allen, Isaiah Allen's aunt.
The gas station has been a hot spot for police. MPD data shows that since January, there have been more than 80 calls for service to that location.
Many of the calls were for traffic stops or business checks, but others were for armed robbery and battery.
After an armed robbery at a gas pump in February and a report last November of a man shooting a gun in the air outside, police deemed the building a nuisance property.
According to the city, the nuisance order was settled. The gas station continued to operate. TMJ4 News has reached out to both the city and the owner for the terms of the settlement.
The owner of the building told TMJ4 News that his tenant, who has leased the building for 20 years, isn't doing anything illegal.
Moore said the family's mission, beyond keeping the Clark closed, is to create a ripple effect that shines a light on other neighborhood businesses with violent activity.
"Isaiah shed the last drop of blood by any citizen at this location. His blood wasn't the first dropped. But it will be the last," said Moore.
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