Violent weekend in Milwaukee: 11 shot in 24 hours
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A violent weekend in Milwaukee left several injured and a 2-year-old dead as Milwaukee stays on pace to have the most violent year in decades.
In a 24-hour period, 11 people were shot in eight separate shootings.
24 hours, 8 separate shootings, 10 people shot and injured. A 2-year-old is dead. Milwaukee stays on track to have its most violent year in decades. pic.twitter.com/Nfddj26y3E
— Kristen Barbaresi (@KristenBarbar) August 2, 2021
"With the COVD-19 restrictions and anxiety depression is up, domestic abuse is up, a lot of things are bubbling over," said community activist Tory Lowe.
Among the victims, a 2-year-old was accidently shot and killed, as well as three teenagers who were shot, but all are expected to survive.
Dr. Terri DeRoon-Cassini, a trauma psychologist at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin, says survivors of gun violence face challenges, especially when their brains aren't fully developed.
"We have 18, 19, 20-year-olds getting shot and it definitely can impact the brain's ability to regulate emotion," Dr. DeRoon-Cassini said.
Dr. DeRoon-Cassini says this can lead to mental health problems, a desire to retaliate and perpetuate the cycle of violence.
"When individuals are feeling heightened sense of fear, individuals can be hyper responsive to things going on around them, their behavior can look erratic, and then they can also be impulsive," Dr. DeRoon-Cassini said.
Lowe says the community needs to step up to help stop this violence.
"We need our community to help us because a lot of people In the community are harboring these who are not caught for shooting other people," Lowe said.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's office and the director of the Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention declined to comment. Lowe says it's frustrating they aren't putting forward more solutions.
"What are they gonna say different than what they’ve said all summer?" Lowe said. "Plus they're not giving people the tools."
Lowe says he's concerned that the end of the eviction moratorium is going to create even more stress and anxiety in the community and drive violence numbers up even higher.