Bloody Milwaukee Weekend

Summer in Milwaukee -- It's the best of time and the worst of times.

There were more deaths and spilled blood in Milwaukee over the weekend then in London as a result of the terror scares and attack in Glasgow.

In spite of the massive media coverage and the world attention of the terrorism plots in Britain, it was far more dangerous to be in Milwaukee.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Two men who were shot in the upper body and are in critical but stable condition today were among five people wounded in three separate overnight shootings, Milwaukee police said this morning.

Five shootings overnight.

FIVE!

These five shootings capped off three murders in the city over the weekend.

Three men were killed in two shootings in less than 24 hours late Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

In each case, what started as a fight ended with gunfire, police and witnesses said.

Sunday's killing occurred outside Dots Fashion, E. Capitol Drive and N. Richards St. Police and paramedics were called at 3:19 p.m.

According to two witnesses, the victim, identified by family as Willie McCollum, arrived at Dots Fashion after a phone call from his girlfriend, who worked at the store.

The witnesses, who said they were afraid to give their names, said the girlfriend got into a fight with a female customer, who was angry about having to wait in line. The customer also made a phone call, to a man who came to the store.

After they arrived, the man and the victim began swinging at each other inside the store. When they moved the fight outside, the witnesses said, the man pulled out a gun and shot McCollum, who went by the nickname Cash, in the neck. The man and the female customer then got into a car and drove away.

...Sunday's killing followed a double murder late Saturday in the 2400 block of N. 50th St.

Police said two men, ages 22 and 19, were shot Saturday night while fighting with two other men. Police refused to identify the victims and had made no arrests.

Police said the two men were fighting in the street with another man when a fourth man arrived with a handgun.

The fourth man shot the 19-year-old and 22-year-old multiple times as they tried to run away about 10:45 p.m.

The weekend's killings ratcheted the number of homicides in Milwaukee this year to 49. That's even with the same point in 2006, despite efforts that police say have decreased the overall number of shootings and led to the seizure of more illegal guns.

Chalk up another lovely summer weekend in Milwaukee with police chalk marks on the streets.

The homicide rate isn't a clear measure of the violence in the city.

One must look at the number of shootings.

Shootings that result in murders are just part of Milwaukee's violence problem.

As the Journal Sentinel reported, "Experts say that the total number of shootings - not just the fatal ones - is a better measurement of gun violence."

There's a reason that city officials like to cite the homicide rate.

It gives the impression that violence in the city isn't spiraling out of control.

No reason to be alarmed. Nothing to see here. Move along.

...Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Sunday that he was angered by the "senseless violence" of the weekend killings.

"Personal responsibility cannot be ignored in this," Barrett said. " . . .when you have this incredibly easy access to illegal guns, and, for some people, the lack of a moral compass, that can be a dangerous combination."

Barrett said the city would continue lobbying for stricter state and federal gun control laws. "There are still far too many illegal guns on the streets of the city of Milwaukee," he said.

Here's a shocker: Mayor Barrett was available to comment on the violence.

Here's not a shocker: Barrett is still whining about tougher state and federal gun laws.

That's so lame.

You could give me a gun. You could give me an illegal gun. In either case, I wouldn't never shoot someone because I became angry or wanted to settle a dispute.

NEVER.

A gun is never responsible for a shooting.

NEVER.

Whenever Barrett tries to pass the buck, falling back on the tired gun legislation excuse, he fails to point out that it's already illegal to carry a gun and shoot someone at a strip mall.

Doesn't the fact the Barrett cites illegal guns as the problem point to fact that it's already against the law to have the guns being used in some of these shootings and murders?

When the Milwaukee Police Department gives its weekly update on the Neighborhood Crime Initiative, I wonder if the exact number of shootings compared to this time last year will once again be conveniently omitted from the stats released.

Every cloud has a silver lining and Barrett has found it in the stable homicide rate.

Clinging to that, of course, is a disservice to the people of the city.