A Milwaukee neighborhood unnecessarily lost three lives on Sunday, April 12 after a fatal car accident involving a toddler prompted two individuals to be shot dead in the street.
Reports ABC News:
A man whose van struck and killed a 2-year-old boy on a Milwaukee street was shot to death after getting out to check on the child, police said. A 15-year-old boy, a brother of the 2-year-old who came from a nearby house, was also fatally shot at the scene.
Archie Brown Jr., 40, died at the scene of Sunday evening’s accident near a park on Milwaukee’s near northwest side, police said. They identified the child as 2-year-old Damani Terry and the teen as Rasheed T. Chiles, who died at a hospital.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a statement later Monday that Damani and Rasheed were brothers.
A police statement Monday said Brown was distraught about hitting the child and stopped right away, according to witnesses. The statement didn’t explain how and why Chiles was shot, but police said he and the 2-year-old were attending the same party at the house near the accident.
Mayor Tom Barrett called the shooting of Brown an “assassination.”
“Someone got angry,” Barrett said. “Someone took a gun and basically assassinated this gentleman.”
Brown’s father, Archie Brown Sr., said a neighbor riding with his son on a trip to Home Depot told him that Chiles had gone to the scene to try to help.
“He came over to assist Junior and while he was assisting him they were shot,” the elder Brown said. “It’s a tough situation.”
Police have no one in custody and so many questions still remain. Where was Damani’s guardian? Next-door-neighbor Barbara Sprewer was quoted saying “Nobody was watching the baby.” Was Rasheed killed because he witnessed Brown’s murder?
Images of the crime scene can be seen in the gallery below. Milwaukee Alderman Joe Davis went on record saying, “This is not a good day for the city.”
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Photos: WISN 12 News, FOX 6 News
