A 17-year veteran of the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services escaped injury after an 11-year-old boy tried to steal his vehicle and fired a gunshot at him on the afternoon of April 29.
The inspector was on a busy Wisconsin Avenue near 32nd Street, already accompanied by Milwaukee police to check out a nuisance property, when a group of children attempted to steal the city worker’s car. Police say the 11-year-old fired a shot, and the bullet grazed the inspector’s coat. The inspector managed to dodge being hit.
Following the shooting, the group fled in a different vehicle, sparking a police chase that ended in a crash at 12th and State. Officers arrested three juveniles: the 14-year-old driver, the 11-year-old shooter, and a 16-year-old.
The vehicle the youths used to try to evade police was also stolen, according to authorities. Officers recovered a gun inside that stolen car.
A neighbor who witnessed the police response described the scene as chaotic. She noted that her daughter gets off the school bus within ten minutes of the incident location. “The fact that, you know, we got 11-year-olds running around shooting at people and stealing cars, it’s crazy,” she said.
The Department of Neighborhood Services confirmed the inspector is okay. Police have arrested the three children, who are currently awaiting proceedings.