Three people were wounded in separate shootings in downtown Milwaukee overnight Wednesday as crowds celebrated the Milwaukee Bucks’ first NBA championship in 50 years, according to reports.
The two shootings happened nearly simultaneously about 12:42 a.m. at two locations near Water Street, police said in a statement.
Multiple shots were heard during a broadcast by TV station WISN, which caused a panic among the crowd.
Gunfire erupted across the Milwaukee River from Fiserv Forum, where the game was played, and the Deer District plaza, where a crowd of roughly 65,000 had gathered for an outdoor watch party.
The area where the shootings happened is on a street full of bars and restaurants.
A suspect was reportedly taken into custody in one of the shootings in which a 22-year-old man sustained non-life threatening injuries, police said.
In the other shooting, a 19-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man also sustained non-life threatening injuries. One person was in custody and other suspects were being sought after fleeing the scene, police said.
There was no immediate indication of a motive in either shooting.
Also during Tuesday night’s game, a police officer was trampled by people trying to get into the Deer District watch party after the area had reached capacity, Milwaukee police Capt. Jesús Ortiz said in an email to The Associated Press. The officer didn’t sustain any major injuries, but reported being in general pain, Ortiz said.
It was the second time in a week that a shooting broke out at a major sporting event amid a continuing resurgence of gun violence across the United States.
On Saturday night, three people were injured in a shooting outside Nationals Park where the San Diego Padres and the Washington Nationals game was suspended in the sixth inning as fans scrambled for safety in the dugout.
Information provided by The Associated Press was used to supplement this report.
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