MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Police have taken a man into custody who opened fire on a 19-year-old right outside the courthouse. It sent the courthouse and part of Marquette Unviersity's campus into lockdown Tuesday.
Milwaukee Police say the shooting happened after an argument that started inside the courthouse. A mother, who did not want to give her name, watched it happened right in front of her with her daughter.
"The argument was first a fist fight and then it proceeded to get the assault rifle to whatever it was out of the trunk," said the mother.
She said she could not believe what she was seeing.
"At first when we'd seen the gun I did not think it was real. It looked like a semi automatic, kind of like a paint gun," said the mother.
But then the man shot, twice.
Another family tried to leave the courthouse as they heard the gunshots.
"We heard the shootings right on the way out and so inside they told us it was on lockdown, that we couldn't come out," said Marie Brown.
People inside the building and on Marquette's campus were told to shelter in place, but the people on the street could only watch as a man with the gun argued with the victim, who was then bleeding.
"When you are in the situation like that you just follow their gun, but you are also trying to make sure there was a kid like right next to them - right next to what happened and we were scared," said the mother.
The suspect went back to the car and took off. That's when the mother and her daughter jumped into action.
"I realized no one was helping him and I was like, 'Ok let's stop the blood from going,'" said the daughter, Caress, who did not want to give her last name.
Caress fashioned a tourniquet from the man's shirts and her mom called 911 and tried to keep him calm.
"I turned to the kid and was like, 'Hey, was this the first time you were shot?' he said, 'Yeah, but it hurts.' I said, 'Okay, they are almost here,' trying to make it a little easier for him because I didn't know what was going to happen," said the mother.
The 19-year-old is being treated at the hospital and is expected to survive. Police say the suspect drove off in a dark colored Dodge Avenger.
