MILWAUKEE — As majority of the world prepares to be filled with holiday cheer, the City of Milwaukee is left in mourning after a couple of deadly incidents within days of each other.
The first incident occurred on Dec. 8 where a 25-year-old mother and her 7-year-old child were found dead inside of a vehicle submerged in the Northridge Lake. The second fatal incident happened on Dec. 9 where a 44-year-old postal worker was shot and killed near 65th and Lancaster delivering on his route.
During a press conference culminating Milwaukee’s annual holiday drive at Running Rebels on Capitol Dr., Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley stepped aside to offer more insight into the pending investigation of the submerged vehicle.
“I know just as much as many of you all know as it relates what happened,” Crowley said. “I know there’s still an investigation still happening. I am not preview of what’s happening in the investigation.”
READ: Reward posted for Postal Worker death on Milwaukee’s north side
Crowley said “the ball was dropped” in the handling of this situation, specifically referring to the call miscommunication where the woman’s mother called law enforcement on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 4:34 p.m. telling them her daughter had been missing. After nothing came of it, she called again on Dec. 8 At 9:40 a.m. A few hours later, the car was found underwater around 12:35 p.m.
“We need to allow this investigation to play out,” Crowley said. “I am really interested in seeing what really happened and where the ball was dropped. When it comes down to public safety, it’s going to continue to be number one.”
Crowley later expanded his definition of the phrase, saying anytime death is involved, “the ball was dropped.”
“When you talk about calls and in general there was a death. When you think about death, something happened. And because we have 2 individuals that were pulled out of a lake, the fact that somebody died, we always say that the ball was dropped. Because there are ways we should be preventing any community violence that we’re seeing right here in Milwaukee.”
RECENT HEADLINES FROM THE WTMJ NEWS STAFF:
- Patti Labelle concert evacuated for bomb threat at Riverside
- Reward posted for Postal Worker death on Milwaukee’s north side
- Over 30 animals rescued from home in North Division Neighborhood
- Multiple firearms, including a semi-automatic AR-15, confiscated during Kenosha County traffic stop
- St. Ben’s Parish offering shelter from the cold for the homeless as part of Continuum of Care winter plan
