MILWAUKEE (NewsNation Now) — Six people were found dead in a Milwaukee home in what police are investigating as multiple homicides, authorities said.
The victims had injuries that are suspected to have been caused by gunfire, Milwaukee Police Sgt. Efrain Cornejo said in an email to The Associated Press.
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.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office tweeted early Monday that the body of an additional person, a man, was recovered from the home. The identities of the dead were pending.
Autopsies were to be performed Monday, according to the medical examiner.
The police department continues to seek “unknown suspects,” Cornejo said as a motive and information about any suspects was not immediately known.
“It is important not to feel numbed by the ongoing violence in our community. A horrible crime has again occurred,” Acting Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said in a statement Sunday night.
Police have not said what caused the deaths, but Formolo said there is no information to suggest that there is a threat to the community.
“The recent acts of violence are a stark reminder of the work that still remains to addressing the root causes of violent crime in our city,” said Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell R. Lucas.
Milwaukee experienced a record 197 homicides in 2021.