Tarel Lashon Perkins Jr., known as T.J., was 27 when he was killed in a late-night shooting in Milwaukee on March 26, 2025. The shooting occurred at about 10:29 p.m. in the area of North Teutonia Avenue and West Carmen Avenue on the city’s north side, in or near the Thurston Woods neighborhood. Perkins and an 18-year-old were both struck; Perkins suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, while the younger victim survived and was taken to hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.

Perkins was born in Chicago on December 31, 1997, and raised in Milwaukee, where he attended Bay View High School. Family remembered him as a basketball fan and musician with a talent for mathematics, a devoted father to his daughter Tariah, and someone who used humor to lift others. A funeral service was held April 4, 2025, with burial at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church Cemetery in St. Francis.

Police described the case as an active homicide investigation and did not disclose a motive, whether Perkins and the surviving victim were together when shooting began, or whether they knew the shooter or shooters. No arrests or named suspects had been announced; tips were requested through Milwaukee Crime Stoppers and the P3 Tips system. Can anyone who was in the Thurston Woods area that night or who knew T.J. share information that could help investigators?