Milwaukee police say the last gun-related homicide in the city of Milwaukee happened on Sept. 18. That's a little more than 3 weeks ago.
The decrease in crime follows a violent August where there were at least 19 homicides and that sparked a movement "Guns Down Miltown” an organization that’s fighting to stop gun violence.
The idea for "Guns Down Miltown" started six years ago but after a violent August, the founders of the organization say they needed to do something.
It's more than just words; co-founder Denzel Johnson says it's a message that needs to be spread.
"It's like the mission fell in my hand," he said. "Catchy slogan, you can just say it's a catchy slogan. We want to save lives pretty much, just the beginning, just one small step."
It started with one t-shirt, then two, then four with proceeds benefiting youth programs. Now it's all over bus shelters across the city.
Reggie Moore is the director of Milwaukee’s Office of Violence Prevention. He learned about the campaign from a t-shirt and offered his help.
"We have to continue to be diligent and aggressive in terms of this work and getting that message out," Moore said.
His office sponsored the advertisements.
"When we talk about prevention it's like how do we you know stop things on the front end as opposed to reacting on the back end," Moore said.
The Office of Violence Prevention says more billboards are being created. They're also planning a youth march and a group of artists in the city are working on a song to continue to spread the message.
Gun-related Homicides are down 10 percent from last year according to the Office of Violence Prevention.
This year there have been 85 shooting deaths compared to 119 shooting deaths at this point last year. Non-fatal shootings are also down 17 percent. Head to gunsdownmiltown.com if you're interested in getting involved with the movement.
