Milwaukee shots fired, standoff on north side; man charged
Hyrom Stokes
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man is accused of firing shots from a vacant building, leading to a standoff on the city's north side on Oct. 16.
Prosecutors charged 34-year-old Hyrom Stokes with second-degree recklessly endangering safety. Court records show he is now jailed on $100,000 bond.
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Shots fired, standoff
Officers were responding to a call when they heard approximately eight gunshots in the area of Fond du Lac and North around 11 p.m. that Wednesday, a criminal complaint states. One Shotspotter alert reported 10 in the area, and another alert for a single shot came in as officers were identifying the location on their GPS.
When officers arrived in the area of the alert, which was a vacant commercial mall, prosecutors said they heard two or three more gunshots. One officer saw a rifle barrel in a second-story window. The officers then retreated and called for backup.
22nd and North, near Fond du Lac; Milwaukee
The complaint notes that the area of Fond du Lac and North is a "high-traffic thoroughfare" with several businesses located on both streets, and there are residential neighborhoods within a block.
Prosecutors said MPD secured the mall's perimeter and, as a tactical team prepared to go in, a man exited the building and was taken into custody. He was then identified as Stokes. No one else was found inside the building or in the area.
In custody
Stokes had a pistol, revolver and bolt-action rifle in his possession, per the complaint. Officers found multiple bullet casings, 11 of which were on the mall's roof – "consistent" with the Shotspotter alert. More casings were found on the ground at two different locations around the building, "consistent with someone firing from either the edge of the roof or from an open window."
In an interview with investigators, Stokes initially denied firing any weapon. He admitted to firing the pistol when confronted about the guns found at the scene, but denied shooting at officers.