MILWAUKEE — Two people were shot while driving in the Third Ward Tuesday. Milwaukee Police say the shooter was in another car.
It happened as both cars were driving down Water Street near the intersection of Buffalo Street around 6:30 p.m., a time when that area is full of people.
Police do not believe the shooting was random and are searching for unknown suspects.
The injured are a 19-year-old woman from Green Bay and a 35-year-old man from Keshena, the Menominee Indian Reservation near Green Bay.
The driver of the car with the shooting victims inside kept driving to Milwaukee Police Headquarters on State Street to get help. Paramedics were called there to rush the man and woman to the hospital.
A TMJ4 news crew noticed a car with at least five bullet holes in the passenger-side door.
Milwaukee Police shut down streets in the area for hours as they collected evidence.
Zack Honzik works inside the Milwaukee Public Market, less than a block away from where the shooting happened.
He’s noticed an uptick in crime, and like many others who live and work in the Third Ward, wants change.
“I love downtown Milwaukee, and believe it’s safe, but there’s been an increase in things happening down here, and we shouldn’t have to worry about falling victim to some sort of senseless crime,” said Honzik.
He hates that violence like this fuels people’s hesitation to come downtown.
“It’s a real shame,” he said. “We want our downtown to thrive and grow. Not people to question safety.”
We also talked with Frank Dunlap who was shopping at the public market.
“We need to support these local businesses,” he said. “Downtown is safe, and I believe anything that happens down here is isolated. Crime happens everywhere.”
Dunlap owns his own bricklaying business and believes the ultimate success of downtown and surrounding neighborhoods depends on our city getting to the root of crime.
“When I do concrete, I understand that before I put the foundation down, I have to make sure the ground is healthy,” he said. “You have to clean up before starting to build up.”
