"Horrific": Six found dead in Milwaukee home and police suspect all were homicides
Six people were found dead in a Milwaukee home Sunday in what police are investigating as multiple homicides, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office. At first, five bodies were discovered. The ME's office later tweeted that a sixth had been spotted.
Milwaukee Police responded about 3:45 p.m. Sunday to assist with a welfare check at the residence where four men and one woman were found dead, Milwaukee Assistant Police Chief Paul Formolo said during a Sunday evening news conference before the sixth body, that of a male, was found. The victims' identities were all pending.
"Citizens of our community had concerns with the occupants that resided there," Formolo said. "It's a normal call for us to respond to. We do it all the time."
The motive and information regarding any suspects weren't immediately known, Formolo said. He said there is no information to suggest that there is a threat to the community.
"The murders discovered today on a residential block in the heart of our city are horrific," Acting Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said in a statement Sunday night. "First, I offer my condolences to the families and friends of the victims. Whatever the circumstances, we must share the grief of those who have lost loved ones."
"This is ridiculous. I'm sorry -- I don't know a better word to say," Office of Violence Prevention director Arnitta Holliman said during the news conference, CBS Milwaukee affiliate WDJT-TV reports.
Holliman called on the community to fuel change.
"We are sick and tired of it," Holliman told reporters. "And we as a community, that means all of us have to be sick and tired enough that we step up and do something."
The incident comes as Milwaukee grapples with violence, WDJT points out. According to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office, there have been 21 homicides to date in the county. At this time last year, there were nine.
Autopsies will be performed Monday, the medical examiner's office said.
