MILWAUKEE – In response to a violent weekend that saw over 20 community members shot and three killed, including a 23-year-old father-to-be, a 19-year-old woman, and a 13-year-old girl, State Rep. David Bowen (D-Milwaukee) released the following statement:
“Yet again, I find my heart breaking over the continued gun violence and loss of life in our community. This weekend, more than 20 people in Milwaukee, from children to adults, suffered needlessly from gun violence, including three young members of our community who had their lives tragically cut short. I have said it before, and I will continue to say it as long as I draw breath – the violence that plagues our city must come to an end! Our city can and should be one where residents can feel safe going about their days, where families can send their children out to play outside without fearing for their lives, and where people can spend time in the comfort of their own homes without worrying whether or not a stray bullet might hit them.
“It is critically important that we continue to have leadership at the federal, state, and local level that understands the root of this violence and the need to work together across divisions and knowledge bases to share information and solve this problem once and for all. Chief Norman of the MPD and Director Holliman of the Office of Violence Prevention need all the support and resources that can be afforded right away, and the Legislature must come back to the table to pass meaningful legislation to institute common sense gun violence reforms and provide sustainable funding for violence prevention that will last until this problem is solved.
“We know that the violence interruption and prevention model works in our city – the Old North Milwaukee neighborhood in the 10th Assembly District has historically struggled with gun violence, but thanks to the work of the OVP and others, I am proud to say that that neighborhood didn’t experience a single shooting during this weekend’s spike.
“Violence prevention works, and it is critical that we double down rather than give up when we need it most!”
