MILWAUKEE — During an appearance on Wisconsin’s Morning News, ABC’s Crime & Terrorism Analyst Brad Garrett pointed toward key issues contributing to the rise in juvenile shootings seen locally, in Milwaukee and on a national scale.
Garrett focused on the childrens’ parents and their responsibility as gun owners to keep firearms in safe conditions. He cited research suggesting that 90% of the guns used by minors in suicides, school shootings, gang incidents and related conflicts are found at home.
“We could debate indefinitely about the volume of guns and the issue of gun control. This has nothing to do with that,” Garrett said. “No matter how many guns you have in the house — one, 10, 20 — if you have kids in the house, [guns] need to be locked up. End of story.”
The conversation was sparked by a string of recent crimes committed by children across the country. In Virginia, a 6-year-old student reportedly brought a gun to school and shot his teacher in front a classroom gull of students.
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WTMJ’s Vince Vitrano inquired about how a suspect who’s so young could be prosecuted, and whether there are resources to see that process through.
“In theory, the prosecutor could charge a six-year-old, but then I don’t know where you’d house him because he’s even too young to go to a juvenile facility,” Garrett said.
The issue of gun violence at the hands of children and young adults is rampant in Wisconsin with a specific issue in Milwaukee County. Just days ago, a 14-year-old male suspect allegedly shot his ex-girlfriend of the same age because she broke up with him. Another young boy shot and killed his mother, reportedly because she woke him up early and wouldn’t buy him a VR headset.
Garrett also considered the liability that a parent might face if their child commits a crime using their gun. The same attention to detail should be applied to people who display signs of serious mental health issues, Garrett suggested.
“It sounds simple, but it’s just really not. Educating people and convincing them that having a lethal weapon laying on your nightstand or readily available in a closet just doesn’t cut it,” Garrett said.
In his conversation, Garrett was careful not to contribute to the stigma against mental health, though he also highlighted its glaring role in juvenile shootings.
“We have to do a better job of identifying kids that are troubled,” Garrett said. “I don’t mean in a negative way, troubled — they are depressed, they have all sorts of issues at home, they are not getting an adequate diet, it just goes on and on and on of understanding why kids act out the way they do.”
Vitrano was sure to highlight that Milwaukee offers free gun locks for community members in an effort to keep the city safe and limit gun violence.
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