3 More Gun Homicides Over Past Week Brings 2014 Total To 53

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Wisconsin Public Radio year-long series tracking all gun-related homicides in Wisconsin.

Three gun homicides were reported in Wisconsin over the past week, bringing the statewide total for the year to 53.

Milwaukee police say Christopher McGee, a 39-year-old African-American man, was shot to death last Saturday. Police have said little about the case, except that an investigation is ongoing.

In Kenosha last Saturday, police say 31-year-old Terriana Cecil, an African-American woman, was killed when a man came into a bar and started shooting at someone else. M.L. Dale, a 24-year-old African-American, has been charged in the death, in what law enforcement says may have part of a long-running dispute between some people.

At a Justice Department ceremony this week marking the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, Milwaukee Urban League President Ralph Hollmon said that American society must find a way to stop the gun violence involving young black men.

“We must reach our young men and show them there are alternatives to guns, violence, and premature death,” said Hollmon. “If we’re not vigilant in these areas, if we do not maximize our resources and work together on these issues, we will not be successful in preserving the progress and the legacy of this historic Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

Hollmon said leaders have to continue to try to get young people to understand the importance of getting a good education and help the unemployed receive job training.

The third gun homicide of the last seven days was in Kenosha, where police say an elderly couple, Ronald and Nancy Meyers, died as part of a planned murder-suicide pact. The Meyers had been married for 57 years.