When Swords Attack

Mayor Tom Barrett seems to think that solving the ILLEGAL gun problem in Milwaukee is the answer to the city's crime crisis.

However, an incident this weekend shows that he needs to address the sword problem, too.

From TMJ4:

Milwaukee police say a 24-year-old drunk man was arrested early Sunday for attacking a stranger with a 20-inch sword. He dismembered the pinky finger of the victim, also 24, before he was captured.

The attack happened about 3:45 a.m. in the 3200 block of South 49th Street.

Detectives say the suspect intended to confront an ex-friend who lives in the same apartment building, but was too drunk to find the right apartment. After hacking at doors, he eventually kicked in one and began swinging. Police say the victim suffered not only the severing of his finger, but cuts to his hands, knees and head.

"He says, 'I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you!'" said neighbor Jaime Torres, describing the suspect's screams, which woke him.

Another neighbor, who declined to give her name, described the commotion as scary. "Yelling, screaming, and shouting, and swishing (of the sword).

That is a really scary scene.

Although the victim suffered significant injuries, thankfully he wasn't hurt more seriously.

It's odd how often swords have figured prominently in other violent outbursts and crimes in Wisconsin.

Just over a month ago, there was that story out of Plover, where a couple robbed a gas station while wielding a samurai sword.

In February, there was the story of the Sword and the Porn.

An Oconomowoc man burst into a neighbor's apartment brandishing a "three foot long military-style sword."

It's obvious that guns, especially those ILLEGAL ones, aren't the only threat to society.

Let's not forget the swords.