Police try to deter young people from following footsteps of "Wild Hunnits" gang



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Charges come down against teens accused of a four day crime spree that left a friend dead. Police say Camron Powell was killed after his group tried to rob another. FOX6 News is learning more about his troubled past.

Police say the young people are part of a gang called the Wild Hunnits -- responsible for disturbing criminal activity. Police are doing what they can to stop more kids from joining.

They are two young lives, taken just a week apart. Two individuals police say are criminals, shot and killed by their victims. They are two friends who ran in the same gang, who know share the same fate.

"It's really disheartening to see someone in that age group lose their life over something so ridiculous," Milwaukee Police Department Captain, David Salazar.

August 15th, police say 22-year-old Joshua Drake walked into a Fox Point Optical store, brandishing a gun trying to rob the place. He was shot and killed by a store employee.

"It's only been a couple of weeks since that event happened and now this event happens," Salazar said.

Weeks later, his friend 15-year-old Camron Powell was shot and killed during an attempted robbery near 2nd and National.

Police say both Drake and Powell were members of the Wild Hunnits gang. An organized group of young people, preying on innocents of Milwaukee.

"They're doing this spree activity where they're committing multiple crimes and they're really terrorizing the community," said Salazar.

Investigators believe the gang is responsible for crimes like armed robberies and car thefts. Police are doing what they can to stop more kids from heading down that path.

"Basically explain to them, this is the track your headed down, it either ends up in a small box in a prison or it ends in a pine box in the ground," said Salazar.

Trying to prevent more young lives from being taken by crime.

"The earlier we can intervene in that child's life, the better chance that we have to turning them around," Salazar said.

Police say the key is intervening with the kids when they are still very young. Trying to deter them from a life of crime.