Jesse Garza

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Milwaukee appears on its way to a about a 14 percent decline in homicides for 2018, the third consecutive yearly drop in killings in the city and the lowest total since 2014, according to preliminary data maintained by the Journal Sentinel.

As Monday night, with a few hours to go in 2018, 101 people were killed in the city, according to the data, compiled from information maintained by the Journal Sentinel and from the Milwaukee Police Department, which adheres to the FBI's national crime reporting standards.

That total was reached after a spate of end-of-the-year violence that saw six fatal shootings in less than a week.

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The total does not include nine other people whose killings do not conform with those standards — including deaths by accidental shootings or killings committed in self-defense.

The 2018 total is subject to change pending the outcome of current investigations. There were 118 homicides in Milwaukee in 2017, 142 in 2016 and 145 in 2015.

In 2014, 86 homicides were recorded in Milwaukee.

This year's decline coincides with a drop in the number of nonfatal shootings from 2017, according to Police Chief Alfonso Morales.

Milwaukee recorded 474 nonfatal shootings in 2018, down from 558 nonfatal shootings in 2017.

"No homicide is acceptable," Morales said in a statement, adding that the department's "shoot review model" — the practice of examining all individuals involved in every shooting — could reduce both fatal and nonfatal shootings even further.

"But through our renewed focus … I am optimistic that we will collectively improve upon this past year’s gains."

As of Monday, during 2018:

Of those killed, 84 were shot, six were stabbed, three were beaten to death and eight were killed in some other manner.

Males accounted for 79 of the victims; 21 were female.

Of all victims, 72 were black, 10 were white, five were Hispanic and 15 were some other or an unknown race.

The oldest victim was 68; the youngest was 13.

The victims include 10 younger than 18, including two infants killed in 1984 and 1985 whose deaths were not ruled homicides until 2018.

The total does not include a 15-year-old boy fatally shot on the Milwaukee County freeway system.

Eighth-grader shot in her home

The youngest homicide victim this year was Sandra Parks, 13, an eighth-grader at Keefe Avenue School.

Sandra was shot shortly before 8 p.m. Nov. 19 while inside her home in the 2700 block of North 13th Street.

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Isaac D. Barns, 26, is accused of firing an AK-47 assault rifle at an unknown target and killing Sandra when she was struck by a bullet from the barrage that pierced a window to her home, according to a criminal complaint.

Barnes, already a felon, faces numerous charges in connection with Sandra’s death, including first-degree reckless homicide-use of a dangerous weapon, and witness intimidation.

Police officer gunned down

Also killed this year was Milwaukee Police Officer Michael J. Michalski.

Michalski, 52, was shot July 25 inside a home in the 2400 block of North 28th Street where he and other officers were searching for a man wanted for drug and domestic violence offenses.

Jonathan Craig Copeland Jr., 31, is accused of shooting Michalski once in the head as the officer climbed a rear staircase and Copeland emerged from a pile of clothing, according to a criminal complaint.

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Copeland is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in Michalski's death.

Mayor sees hopeful signs

"I look at these numbers every day," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said, pointing to community involvement and the city's "Blueprint for Peace," a major initiative to reduce violence unveiled in November 2017 that he says is beginning to yield dividends.

"The most important indicator for me is that there are 100 fewer people who haven't been shot or victims of homicide."

"That’s very significant," Barrett said, "That's 100 people whose lives are not ended or altered significantly by gunshots."

The Blueprint takes a public health approach to stemming violence, said Reggie Moore, director of the Milwaukee Health Department's Office of Violence Prevention.

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"It looks at the causes of violence, systemic factors, populations and places, where it's happening and who it is happening to," Moore said.

"And, like a disease, it looks at things that drive its transmission."

Developed by the office, the blueprint focuses on 10 priority neighborhoods based on their relatively high rates of assaults, nonfatal shootings and homicides from 2014 to 2016.

And though homicide rates in Milwaukee have both risen and fallen dramatically since the office's launch in 2010, violence prevention means more than a reduction of homicides and nonfatal shootings, Moore said.

"If we are striving for a successful city, safety has to be at its foundation," Moore said.

"But if we are going to be a thriving community, we have to look at access to employment, housing and economic opportunity."