The paintball wars: Milwaukee police investigate 65 reports of random paintball shootings

The paintball wars have come to Milwaukee.

Milwaukee police officers have responded to 65 reports of people — including two postal workers — being hit by paintballs in the past five days throughout the city.

The most recent incident occurred Monday afternoon when a man was walking with his caretaker and was hit in the face by a paintball during a drive-by-style shooting on the city's east side.

"We are concerned at the frequency of these and that during the nighttime hours somebody's going to mistake these paintball guns for real guns," Sgt. Melissa Franckowiak said.

Police officials believe the paintball shootings stem from postings on social media. The trend began with influential hip-hop artists — in particular Atlanta rapper 21 Savage — who called for people to put down real guns and pick up paintball guns instead.

So far, no one has been seriously injured, but paintballs can travel up to 300 feet per second, Franckowiak said.

It doesn't appear to be just one group. Multiple groups of young people, ages 20 and younger, have been seen shooting paintball guns from several vehicles, she said.

One person was arrested over the weekend and told investigators it was a "social media thing" with multiple groups spread citywide, Franckowiak said.

Similar paintball incidents have been reported across the country.

"It's just new to Milwaukee," Franckowiak said.

Last weekend, Detroit police organized special patrols to crack down on the so-called "paintball wars" after receiving more than 95 complaints about paintball guns within a week. One Detroit officer saw about 50 people shooting paintball guns. When he turned on his squad's lights, a 22-year-old shot in his direction, hitting the car.

In North Carolina, police believe a "paintball war" led to the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old on April 20. In the same state, a 2-year-old girl was pelted with paintballs in her front yard, caught in the crossfire as a group of young men fired at one another.

On Sunday, Madison police arrested a 21-year-old man and ticketed several teens who were accused of firing paintball guns from a car and hitting three people downtown.

In Milwaukee, the first paintball report came in shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday. Two men, ages 60 and 27, were hit by paintballs on N. 32nd St. near W. Clybourn St. in the Merrill Park neighborhood, according to police.

The two men received minor injuries, police said Monday.

Those caught firing the paintball guns could face disorderly conduct citations or possible criminal charges depending on the circumstances, according to police.

Police are urging young people to go to private paintball courses where it's legal, rather than randomly targeting people on the street and damaging property.

Anyone with information about the paintball shootings is asked to call Milwaukee police at (414) 935-7360.