Naeem Sarosh

Naeem Sarosh was a beloved husband, father of two daughters, and a respected member of his Milwaukee community. A 35-year-old White male, Sarosh was a four-year veteran Community Service Officer with the Milwaukee Police Department, assigned to District 2. Colleagues described him as well-liked, and his family remembered him as a man who loved spending time with them, whether on trips to Six Flags or simply playing with his daughters at home. As a Community Service Officer, he was an unarmed civilian employee who assisted with non-emergency calls.

On the evening of August 31, 2020, a dispute between neighbors turned fatal. At approximately 6:00 p.m. on the 4800 block of South 22nd Place, Sarosh, who was off-duty, approached the home of his next-door neighbor, 65-year-old Mohammed Afzal. The issue was grass clippings that had been left on Sarosh’s property after Afzal’s family had mowed their lawn. A neighbor overheard a loud discussion, followed by a man screaming, “I told you to put that down.”

A security camera on Afzal’s house captured the tragic interaction. The footage showed Sarosh standing at the door with his hands in his pockets during what appeared to be a casual conversation. Suddenly, Afzal raised a handgun and fired. As Sarosh turned to run away, Afzal fired a second shot, striking him in the back. First responders arrived and attempted life-saving measures, but Naeem Sarosh was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Milwaukee police took Mohammed Afzal into custody shortly after the shooting. During an interview with detectives, Afzal admitted to shooting his neighbor. He claimed he came to the door already armed and fired because Sarosh’s hands were in his pockets, which made him think Sarosh had a gun. Afzal acknowledged, however, that Sarosh never displayed a weapon. He told investigators he fired to "scare" Sarosh away. After the shooting, Afzal went back inside his house, put the gun away, and changed his clothes because he knew the police would be arriving.

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office charged Mohammed Afzal with first-degree reckless homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon. He was taken into custody in September 2020 to await trial. However, the case never reached a verdict. On June 16, 2023, Afzal, then 68, died in a hospital while still in custody. The sheriff’s office reported that he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been moved from the jail’s infirmary to the hospital. His death brought the criminal proceedings to a close in June 2023.