On the morning of August 21, 2017, 26-year-old Kakuma Kennedy of Champlin, Minnesota, was shot and killed after a dispute outside Duke’s bar near Water Street and Juneau Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. Witnesses said a black vehicle pulled up, words were exchanged and then gunfire erupted; Kennedy was struck three times. Friends took him to a hospital, but he died. Two friends, ages 24 and 30, suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

Three men were arrested in connection with the shooting: Clarence Shelton, Courvoisier Hills, and Willie Barnes. Prosecutors say Shelton fired the fatal shots; Shelton told courts he intended only to scare Kennedy’s group because he believed someone was reaching for a weapon. Shelton later pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless homicide and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, followed by 10 years of extended supervision. Barnes, a convicted felon, received a 12-month sentence with credit for time served; charges against Hills were dismissed.

If anyone was in the downtown Milwaukee area that night or has information about the confrontation outside Duke’s, please share what was seen.