Mayor Barrett: Violent incidents we've seen of late have something in common -- people losing control

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- We saw a shooting involving a four-year-old girl late Tuesday, April 14th and an officer-involved shooting at the Walgreens store near Fond du Lac and Hampton on Wednesday. These are the latest incidents to occur during what has been a particularly violent week in Milwaukee. We have seen nine shooting incidents in Milwaukee since Sunday, April 12th -- and on Tuesday, we saw three homicides -- a shooting, a stabbing and a fatal battery incident. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett held a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday afternoon -- speaking out as eight people have lost their lives in the city as a result of violence.

Mayor Barrett on Wednesday spoke about a need for a change in law, and also, in values.

He addressed the violence we have seen this week in Milwaukee -- starting with the incident near 48th and Glendale Sunday. 40-year-old Archie Brown was driving his van near Wahl Park when a two-year-old darted out into the street. The toddler, Damani Terry, was struck by Brown's van and died at the scene. Witnesses say Brown was distraught and crying as he tried to help the toddler. Brown was shot, and he died at the scene. 15-year-old Rasheed Chiles, Terry's older brother, was also shot. Family members believe a stray bullet struck him. He was taken to the hospital, where he died during surgery.

Mayor Barrett says many of the incidents that have occurred since Sunday have had something in common: people losing control.

Barrett says he's had a chance to sit down with elected and appointed officials, such as Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm and Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn to talk about what can be done to stop the violence and the need for more engagement and involvement.

Schimel says agents will be assigned to focus on gun crimes on the street -- but Mayor Barrett again Wednesday addressed how some of the laws in place, such as the state's concealed carry law need to be looked at and changed. He also stressed the need for harsher punishment for those convicted of crimes involving guns.

"I don't know that you can ever say that an incident involving the loss of control and anger can be eliminated by a law. What I can say is that we need to make sure that our laws are allowing us to prevent, to prosecute, to incarcerate individuals who commit violent crimes whether with guns, or knives, or whatever. I don't think all the tools that we need are there right now. That's what I want to see changed. Carrying a concealed gun without a state issued concealed carry license is a misdemeanor for the first offense and for any subsequent offenses. What I need to see and what I think is important is that we make sure that it`s a felony for carrying a gun without a permit and certainly in sentencing that has to be considered," Mayor Barrett said.

In addition to a change in laws, Mayor Barrett says he also wants to see a change in values.

"We need to have the churches, we need to have the families, we need to have the community groups, the support groups really deal with the values of the people in our community and deal with those issues so we don`t have this level of violence," Mayor Barrett said.

At 29th and Melvina, where 18-year-old Michael Powell was shot and killed Tuesday Milwaukee pastors gathered Wednesday -- their second gathering in as many days. They say they hope to affect change by showing up at every shooting scene in the city and praying for the victims.

"We`re starting something huge. We want everyone in Milwaukee to know that all lives matter. That`s what we`re here for. If you can put down your drugs, your guns, you can put down everything you have. You can lay it down here. That`s where its going to start and we`re hoping right here that change is going to happen," a pastor said.

The following is a breakdown of the violent incidents that have occurred in Milwaukee since Sunday:

WEDNESDAY, April 15th

TUESDAY, April 14th

MONDAY, April 13th

SUNDAY, April 12th

This violence comes on the heels of a very violent Easter weekend, where we saw seven shootings -- five within a two-hour period.