MILWAUKEE — Of the 214 people murdered in Milwaukee last year, Police Chief Jeffrey Norman estimates half were the result of out-of-control emotions combined with guns.
He admitted in a news conference Thursday morning that that kind of crime is difficult for police to get ahead of.
"Unfortunately, so many of these situations go from zero to 100 real quick," Norman said.
One of those murders appears to be the case of Donnie Lockwood.
- 2022 CRIME NUMBERS: City of Milwaukee homicides up 11%, serious crime down 15%
It was late on the night of Sept. 6 when the call came in for a shooting at 83rd and Lisbon. At the scene, police found 50-year-old Lockwood shot to death. It was Milwaukee's 156th homicide of the year.
Lockwood's brother Tyrone said he died a death he did not deserve.
"He was a good guy, giving guy, loveable guy. He was a good character, know what I mean? He loved his kids," Lockwood said.
Lockwood's family said he was found shot repeatedly. They can only think that manner of murder speaks to something extremely personal.
"That was an execution, sir. That wasn't anything else but that. Do think it was personal? Yeah, I definitely think it was a personal situation, somebody very close to him," Tyrone said.
Chief Norman said police are working to interrupt this kind of violence, but it is difficult work.
"The challenge is real. We have almost half of our homicides identified contributing incidents are argument conflict issues or domestic violence. There are a lot of opportunities, but there's a wide variety of challenges behind that," Norman said.
Just as personal and challenging is domestic violence.
We saw an exceptional example of that last July when six women were killed in a span of 12 days.
Office of Violence Prevention director Ashanti Hamilton said solving this problem comes down to building trust.
"They trust they can share intimate things happening in their family without it being punitive. Without the fear of losing their children. Without the fear of talking about a domestic violence incident in their family," Hamilton said.
All of that work will take time.
It's happening while police still work to solve more than 40 percent of last year's murders, including the death of Lockwood.
His brother Tyrone struggles with the lack of closure as much as he does the underlying problem that leads to so many senseless deaths.
"It's unexplainable. You can't explain it. It's horrible. It's a horrible situation society has turned to. That's what it is," he said.
Lockwood's family has posted a reward of $5,000 for anyone with information that leads to a conviction in his case.
The Milwaukee Police Department are still searching for an unknown suspect. Police are asking anyone with information to contact them at 414-935-7360 or Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS.
