MILWAUKEE — The family of a 22-year-old Milwaukee man is speaking out after he was shot and killed during his son's birthday party Saturday evening at Center Street Park.
According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to reports of a shooting at about 6:47 p.m. during a large picnic-style gathering at the park.
Watch: Family and friends mourn the loss of 22-year-old Pepe Sikisi-Belle Jr. who was shot and killed on Saturday at Center Street Park.
When first responders arrived, they found a man with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper torso. He died at the scene, authorities said.
Family identified the man as 22-year-old Pepe Sikisi-Belle Jr.
Sikisi-Belle's mother, Marissa Bopilo, says her son had been celebrating his son’s 4th birthday at the park when an argument broke out.
"You need to hurry up and get here because he got shot twice," Bopilo recalled being told over the phone.
Bopilo says she rushed to the park after receiving the call.
"I looked on the ground, and my son was dead," she said.
Investigators arrested a 25-year-old Milwaukee woman at the scene. The sheriff's office said she was in possession of two firearms.
On Sunday, family and friends gathered to remember Sikisi-Belle Jr., who was known to many as "PJ."
"My son was a good man. He always was a family person," Bopilo said. "He never seen bad in anyone, always was a lover."
Family members said Sikisi-Belle Jr. leaves behind two young children, including a daughter who will turn 5 later this month.
Bopilo said her son was attending Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) and hoped to become either a police officer, lawyer or district attorney.
"He wanted to give his kids and everyone around him a better life and he didn't get the chance," Bopilo said through tears.
As family members mourned his death, they also called for an end to gun violence.
"I want gun violence to stop and want people to work it out and talk," a family member said.
Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office detectives believe the suspect and victim knew each other.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
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