MILWAUKEE — A cycle of deadly violence in Milwaukee claimed nearly two dozen victims over the weekend and Mayor Cavalier Johnson is looking for ways to make it stop.
The violent weekend comes less than two weeks after Mayor Johnson was sworn-in. The issue is not new to the mayor who grew up here.
TMJ4 News met with Mayor Johnson at his office in City Hall on Monday. He says he started working on addressing the weekend violence as it was being reported on Sunday.
The mayor says he met with the police and fire chiefs, along with the Office of Violence Prevention and other community stakeholders. He told TMJ4 News he believes it’s about taking the message on stopping violence directly to the people who could commit the crimes.
"The folks who are most likely to pull triggers in the city, how do we meet them where they are? How do we engage them where they are in order to stop this kind of violence from happening in the first place? We already sprang into action doing that and we’ll have more news on that in the coming days," Mayor Johnson said.
The mayor did not offer specifics, but says he will have more soon.
"The next few days we’ll have the opportunity to flush out the ideas and find ways to reach people where they are," Mayor Johnson said.
The mayor did note that the city tends to see violence rise when the temperatures do. He said he is troubled by what we saw this weekend; the first of warmer temperatures with a long summer ahead.
