MILWAUKEE — City leaders held an emergency meeting at City Hall on Wednesday to address growing concerns over violence on Milwaukee's Water Street after nine people were shot in the busy nightlife district over the last three weekends.
Three of those shooting victims have died.
Alders called on the Milwaukee Police Department to explain what it’s facing.
"We're seeing larger crowds and behavior that disregards authority,” said MPD Chief of Staff Heather Hough.
Watch: MPD says it will increase police presence to address Water Street violence
On July 12, two people were killed and three others were injured in a shooting near Michigan and Water streets.
A week later, a 21-year-old was killed in the area of Water Street, and a 15-year-old was also hurt in the shooting.
Watch: Milwaukee entrepreneur and promoter killed in Water Street shooting
The problems on Water Street extend beyond shootings. That same weekend, two women were seriously injured when someone drove through a barricade.
The driver was cited for failing to yield and driving without insurance or vehicle registration, but has not faced more severe charges.
Watch: Mother outraged after Milwaukee driver who severely injured her daughter faces only citation
Just this past weekend, two more shootings occurred in the popular downtown district. A 31-year-old man was shot early Sunday morning, and on Saturday, a 21-year-old was shot.
During Wednesday's nearly three-hour meeting, which was packed with concerned citizens, MPD officials outlined several challenges they face in addressing the violence.
MPD says its biggest challenge is staffing, followed by one bar in particular.
“ELMNT {Lounge},” Inspector Sheronda Grant said. “Right now that's the tavern that's responsible for a majority of the downtown shootings."
MPD command says they’re making changes by assigning more officers to Water Street starting this weekend. The department didn’t say how many, but it acknowledged adding officers to downtown will take officers away from other parts of the city.
"They're basically saying it's hopeless,” said Alderman Bob Bauman.
Bauman says he’s unsatisfied with MPD’s plan.
"There are other suggestions we're getting from businesses in the area and those were pretty much scoffed at,” he said. “The issue of closing the street wasn't dealt with."
One of those businesses is Pourman’s on Water Street. Its owner wrote a letter to alders saying it doesn’t allow weapons inside, but, “We unfortunately cannot control the presence of individuals openly carrying or concealing weapons outside our bar."
Community activist Shawn Moore says all he heard from the meeting was reactive steps rather than proactive solutions.
“I was really disappointed,” he said.
“What solutions do you want to bring to the table?” Jordan asked.
“De-escalation before the incident reaches that boiling point,” Moore replied.
TMJ4 spoke with several people who attended the meeting. Many of them were frustrated they weren’t offered the opportunity to share their suggestions on what could solve this issue.
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