5 people injured in shooting outside Prime Social Restaurant and Bar early Monday
Five people were injured in a shooting outside a northwest side restaurant early Monday morning, the second apparent mass shooting in Milwaukee in a week.
Police were called to Prime Social Restaurant and Bar, 7225 N. 76th St., at 1:30 a.m. Monday. The five victims, all hospitalized with nonfatal injuries, were males between the ages of 25 and 44. Four are from Milwaukee and a fifth is from Oak Creek.
Police did not announce any arrests or provide details on the circumstances behind the shooting. Management at the restaurant did not immediately return a request for comment Monday morning.
The shooting comes one week after a 15-year-old boy was killed and four women were injured in the same shooting outside a home on the 1400 block of West Concordia Avenue. Police said it was the result of an argument.
That incident was Milwaukee’s first mass shooting of 2023, but the city’s 23rd since 2020, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks mass shooting incidents nationwide. Another mass shooting also occurred in Wauwatosa during that time.
The archive defines a mass shooting as four or more victims who are injured or killed, not counting any shooter.
In the three years prior to 2020, Milwaukee experienced just five mass shootings. That follows a nationwide trend of increased amounts of mass gun violence, according to The Violence Project, a nonprofit research group which uses a more narrow definition of mass shootings.
Reggie Moore, the director of community safety policy and engagement at the Medical College of Wisconsin, attributed the increase to the accessibility of high-capacity and automatic firearms.
The incident also comes after a weekend in which two men – ages 24 and 58 – were killed in separate homicides and two children – ages 2 and 5 – were injured in other shootings.
Police announced a 40-year-old woman was arrested in connection with the 2-year-old boy’s shooting, which occurred Sunday on the 2800 block of North 26th Street. A 25-year-old Milwaukee man was also arrested in connection with the 24-year-old’s shooting death, reported Sunday on the 8500 block of North Granville Road.
Unknown suspects are sought in the stabbing death of the 58-year-old man, which was reported Saturday on the 4800 block of North Sherman Boulevard, and in the shooting that injured the 5-year-old boy Friday on the 3800 block of North 10th Street.
As of Thursday, the latest official data from the Milwaukee Police Department, the city recorded 33 homicides. That’s down from 43 at the same time in 2022 and up from 23 in the same time in 2021.
Milwaukee has seen record-breaking levels of homicides each of the last three years, along with heightened levels of gun violence nationwide at the same time.
Nonfatal shootings are down 4% from a year ago, according to police.
How to contact police
Anyone with information about the above incidents is asked to contact Milwaukee police at 414-935-7360. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-Tips, or use the P3 Tips app.
Where to find help
Milwaukee's Office of Violence Prevention also recommends these resources for free support:
414Life outreach and conflict mediation support: 414-439-5398.
Milwaukee County's 24-Hour Mental Health Crisis Line: 414-257-7222.
Milwaukee's Child Mobile Crisis and Trauma Response Team: 414-257-7621.
National crisis text line: Text HOPELINE to 741741 to text with a trained crisis counselor.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255.The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233.
Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Shooting outside Prime Social Restaurant and Bar injures 5 in Milwaukee
