'It should've never happened': City leaders speak out after murder of Milwaukee postal worker
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Police are still looking for the person who shot and killed 44-year-old postal worker Aundre Cross Friday night.
While there's no new information from police, city leaders say it'll take help from the community, and leaders at both the state and federal level, to truly address the violent crime that plagues Milwaukee.
"It should've never happened, point blank, period," said 2nd District Alderman Mark Chambers Jr.
He says he went to the scene shortly after it happened, and says police are working hard to bring the person who killed Aundre Cross to justice.
"I know that the Milwaukee Police Department is working hard as they can, especially with some of the shortages," said Alderman Chambers.
Those shortages are something Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson says he's trying to address in order to fight back against the tide of violent crime in the city.
He says he's continued to work to establish relationships with leaders at the state and federal level to address gun laws and secure more funding for first responders.
"If you go back to the year 2000, in the city of Milwaukee we received enough shared revenue from the state to pay for the entire police department budget, the entirety of the fire department budget, and still had tens of millions of dollars left over to invest in local priorities. Now we don't even get enough to pay for police," said Mayor Johnson.
Johnson says for the first time in 15 years, they're in a good position this legislative session to seek more resources from the state or work out a way for the city to generate revenue locally to address the issue.
"That's problematic and that's something that we have to fix," said Mayor Johnson.
Alderman Chambers says it'll also take people being vigilant and reporting criminal activity when they see it.
"I just hope we all, as a community, we come together and hold these individuals that are doing these things, whether it's reckless driving or as heinous as the murder of a postal worker, to justice," said Ald. Chambers.
Police have released a picture of the vehicle the suspect was driving, a silver Audi Q5 SUV.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of whoever shot Aundre Cross.