A woman beaten to death with a lamp in an act of domestic violence. A man fatally stabbed during an argument outside a tavern. A man shot and killedwhile returning from a funeral for his grandfather.
Those are just three of the 24 homicides recorded in August — what Milwaukee police have termed the “deadliest month” in 25 years.
It is the highest monthly total since July 1991, when the victims of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer were discovered, Milwaukee police said.
“We’ve had a slight increase in domestic violence homicides this year, but the biggest driver of our homicides is arguments and fights and retaliation among people with criminal records,” Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn said Thursday.
“Some of our challenge is simply consistently being able to deter armed offending through the criminal justice system,” he added. “The penalties are too weak.”
Although Chicago has captured national headlines for having its deadliest month in nearly two decades, Milwaukee had a higher per capita rate of killings (4 per 100,000 people) in August compared with its neighbor to the south (3.3 per 100,000 people), according to Milwaukee police. – READ MORE
