'He definitely had a gift': Well-known Milwaukee barber shot and killed outside his barbershop

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A talented and well-known Milwaukee barber lost his life this week in a shooting in the Harambee neighborhood.

Milwaukee police were called to Holton and Center around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, July 2. Police said a group of people were involved in a fight when a suspect fired shots.

Yosef J. Timms, 32, was shot and killed, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office. His friends, family and clients knew him as "Jay Da Barber" or "Jay."

The shooting happened in broad daylight outside of Fade Lounge, the barbershop Timms owned.

"He definitely had a gift in barbering ... The barber community has lost an extremely talented barber," said Gaulien 'Gee' Smith, owner of Gee's Clippers. "For that to just be taken just like that is a senseless act of violence."

Timms used to work at Gee's Clippers and was Smith's personal barber when he worked there. His former coworkers said they're having a hard time believing he's gone.

"When I first came to Gee's, he was here and he just welcomed me with open arms. I loved him like a brother," Christian Schmidt, a barber at Gee's Clippers.

Timm left Gee's Clippers four and a half years ago to start his own business.

"It's every barber's dream to own his own barbershop," Schmidt said. "That's what everybody works hard for. That's the American dream."

His former coworkers said he loved cars and skating, and he was about to become a father for the first time.

"I just want his unborn child to know: Your dad was a great man that was highly respected in the community. He had a lot of friends and loved him," Smith said.

CBS 58 spoke with Timm's aunt on the phone. She said he loved to travel the world, and he loved to joke around and have fun.