News

A 23-Year-Old Man Was Shot By Milwaukee Police

by Alex Gladu

On Saturday, a 23-year-old man was shot and killed by police in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Police had not identified the man publicly as of Sunday morning, but he had reportedly fled a traffic stop, along with another individual. Violence erupted around the city overnight after news of the shooting was made public. Update: The man shot and killed has been identified as Sylville Smith, according to his mother, Mildred Haynes.

According to a statement released by the Milwaukee Police Department, two officers pulled over a vehicle with two suspects in it at around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two individuals fled on foot, and one of the officers shot the 23-year-old unidentified man. He reportedly died at the scene.

Police also reported that the man who was killed had been armed with a stolen semiautomatic handgun. "The suspect is a 23-year-old Milwaukee man with lengthy arrest record," the police statement reads. "The handgun he was armed with was taken in a burglary in Waukesha in March."

The officer who fatally shot the Milwaukee man also hadn't bee identified as of Sunday morning, but he is 24 years old. He has six years of experience with the Milwaukee Police Department, three of them as an officer. He has been placed on administrative duty during the investigation of the shooting, which is standard protocol.

Following the shooting, Milwaukee police responded to disturbance calls in at least two different locations. In both areas, people were reportedly rioting in response to the earlier shooting. At one location, a gas station was set on fire and demolished. The video above shows the destruction.

Nearby, protestors showed aggression toward responding police officers. The crowd broke the windows of police vehicles and may have set one vehicle on fire. One police officer was hospitalized after being hit in the head by a brick that was thrown through a squad car window, according to the Milwaukee Police Department.

According to NBC, the crowd of protesters in Milwaukee numbered around 100 people and didn't disperse until early on Sunday morning. At least three people were arrested in connection with the chaos. Local officials and residents called for calm in the wake of the shooting and subsequent violence.

The shooting and the riots occurred in Milwaukee's north side, a neighborhood that has seen tension and violence in the (recent) past. Just days before Saturday's officer-involved shooting, a double homicide occurred nearby on Tuesday. In that incident, a 44-year-old man was shot and killed, and a 25-year-old man was stabbed to death. That recent violence seemed to strengthen the calls for peace in the aftermath of Saturday's fatal shooting of an unidentified 23-year-old man.