The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals responsible for the fires set Saturday night during the violent unrest in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood.
The ATF, state and local officials are investigating fires that caused damage to these businesses:
- The BP gas station at 3114 N. Sherman Boulevard.
- O’Reilly Auto Parts at 3405 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
- BMO Harris Bank branch at 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
- Jet Beauty Supply at 3501 W. Burleigh St.
- PJ’s Supermarket at 3079 N. 21st St.
- MJM Liquor Store at 2229 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
- A to Z Wholesale Liquor at 2233 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
- Big Jim’s Liquor at 2161 W. Hopkins St.
Aggregate losses from the fires are estimated to exceed “several million dollars,” according to the ATF, which is providing additional expertise to help determine the cause and origin of the fires.
After violent unrest in Sherman Park on Saturday and Sunday night, the neighborhood was considerably calmer Monday night. There were 10 arrests in the neighborhood Monday night and one report of shots fired, but no officer injuries or damage to vehicles, homes or businesses, according to the Milwaukee Police Department.
Sherman Park will be closed to the public from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice as officers work to restore peace to the neighborhood following the violent protests on Saturday and Sunday nights in response to the death of 23-year-old Sylville K. Smith on Saturday afternoon. Smith, an armed African-American suspect stopped by MPD for a suspicious vehicle check, was shot and killed by a 24-year-old African-American police officer following a foot chase in the 3200 block of North 44th Street, MPD said.
An 11 p.m. summer curfew for minors has been moved up to 10 p.m. and is being more strictly enforced, according to BizTimes media partner WISN 12 News.
Several businesses were damaged in fires set Saturday night, and an 18-year-old man was shot and several police injured during violent protests Sunday night.
BMO Harris Bank and O’Reilly Automotive were working to evaluate the damage to their buildings and reallocating employees from those locations to other branches.
A to Z Wholesale is still unsure of how much damage was done to the soft drink wholesale company, according to WISN.
Gov. Scott Walker met with community and faith leaders this morning at City Brook Church in Sherman Park.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, who ordered the overnight closures, wrote an op-ed for The Hill that blamed the progressive left for creating the chaos in Milwaukee.
“The officer-involved shooting was simply a catalyst that ignited the already volatile mixture of inescapable poverty, failing K-12 public schools, dysfunctional lifestyle choices like father absent homes, gang involvement, drug/alcohol abuse and massive unemployment,” Clarke wrote.
Milwaukee Common Council president Ashanti Hamilton was among the leaders calling for peace Monday in the wake of the violent weekend protests. Read what he had to say in today’s Milwaukee Biz Blog.
Read about the latest updates on the unrest in Milwaukee at WISN 12 News.
