Death of 57-year-old Shorewood man ruled a homicide

SHOREWOOD (WITI) -- Shorewood police found a 57-year-old man dead inside an apartment on N. Oakland Avenue Tuesday night, July 16th while responding to a welfare check. This case has now been ruled a homicide.

Police tape blocked the building and neighboring parking lot Wednesday, but there are still a lot of questions with few answers.

"There's just police tape everywhere. No one seems to know what's going on," Anne Wilson said.

A Wisconsin Department of Justice crime lab sat Wednesday afternoon in the 4400 block of Oakland Avenue, where police also stood guard, letting few people in and out.

Police were called to the building Tuesday night for a welfare check when they discovered the man's body.

An employer has confirmed it is 57-year-old Clarence Charles, an employee of the Metro Market in Milwaukee.

How Charles died is unknown.

"It's a little unexpected because Shorewood is said to be one of the safest communities. We're just kind of waiting to see what happens now," Wilson said.

Police say they will continue to investigate until a cause of death is determined. In a media release Wednesday evening, police said they do not believe this was a random act, and said they do not believe anyone else in Shorewood is in danger.