Milwaukee leaders address gun violence in aftermath of 6-year-old's death

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — A vigil will be held near N. 51st Blvd. and W. Marion St. Friday night, honoring Daquell Collins, known as "King" - the 6-year-old boy who was shot and killed Tuesday night.

Friday would have been his seventh birthday.

Collins' aunt shared a video with CBS 58 of a phone conversation with the boy's mother, who is currently in jail.

"I want everybody to know I didn't do nothing to my baby. I wasn't there," his mother, Daquela Collins, says over the phone.

"She wasn't there, she was at work," says his aunt, Vannatyie Binion.

Binion said King's mother is heartbroken. She claims Tuesday's shooting wasn't a violent crime, it was an accident.

Three people are in custody connected to the incident, but no charges have been filed.

King is one of more than 135 people shot in Milwaukee in 2025.

Local leaders discussed gun violence Friday afternoon; a national initiative is working to reduce shootings in the city by 15%.

"It's through collaboration and a shared unwavering dedication to reducing gun violence that we can impact meaningful and long-lasting change," said Fatimah Loren Dreier, the executive director of Health Alliance for Violence Intervention.

The Coalition to Advance Public Safety awarded $500,000 to five community violence intervention organizations: Milwaukee Christian Center, United Gardens, West Care, Community Task Force, and Asha Family Services.

They said those groups are proven to reduce harm, as gun-related homicides and non-fatal shootings have decreased in Milwaukee over the last two years.

"We know that this work is working, we know it needs to be brought up to scale, it needs to be in the schools, it needs to be in communities," said David Muhammad, deputy director of the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services. "We can improve the life outcomes for everybody in Milwaukee and make it a safer city."