Campus Alert Archive
Marquette

Bullet-Pocked House Two Blocks from Norris Park: Marquette's 61-Minute Delay Drew Editorial Fire

WIshootingtimely warningmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On Monday evening, July 7, 2025, around 8:00 PM CDT, Milwaukee Police and the Marquette University Police Department responded to a shooting at North 18th Street and West Highland Avenue — two blocks north of Marquette's Norris Park. Witnesses reported multiple consecutive shots; investigators recovered shell casings and discovered bullet damage to both a house and a vehicle on the block. MUPD sent its initial Safety Alert text at 8:04 PM CDT and a follow-up email at 9:05 PM CDT, a 61-minute delay between the two messages that drew sharp editorial criticism from the Marquette Wire student newspaper.

Alerts
2
Response
4 min
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Marquette University
Private R2 · WI
~11,102 studentsMU Safety Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction155 chars
MU Safety Alert: Shots fired in the area of N. 18th Street and W. Highland Avenue. MUPD and MPD are responding. Avoid the area. More information to follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from Marquette Wire's specific report that 'MUPD sent out a safety alert text at 8:04 p.m. and an email to students at 9:05 p.m.'
Sent within minutes of the 8:00 PM CDT shooting — a fast SMS response, but the follow-up email did not arrive for another 61 minutes
The location is two blocks north of Norris Park on Marquette's urban Milwaukee campus, well within Clery geography requiring timely warning
FOLLOW-UPEmail+1h 1m
Approximate reconstruction395 chars
MU Safety Alert Update: Earlier this evening, MUPD and Milwaukee Police responded to reports of shots fired in the 1700 block of W. Highland Avenue, near N. 18th Street. Officers located a house and a vehicle with bullet damage. Neither is affiliated with Marquette. No officers, students or bystanders are reported injured. The investigation is ongoing. There is no continuing threat to campus.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from Marquette Wire's detailed account: 'a house and vehicle were found with bullet holes,' both 'not affiliated with the university,' and 'No officers or bystanders were struck by gunfire, according to MPD'
Sent at 9:05 PM CDT — 61 minutes after the initial SMS alert, drawing editorial criticism from the Marquette Wire about MUPD's notification cadence
The email confirmed that the bullet-damaged property was off-campus and unrelated to the university, but Marquette Police had not identified suspects as of the alert's publication
Context

Background

Just two blocks north of Marquette's Norris Park on the Jesuit university's urban Milwaukee campus, a shooting erupted around 8:00 PM CDT on July 7, 2025 at the intersection of North 18th Street and West Highland Avenue. The Marquette University Police Department and Milwaukee Police Department responded together; investigators later located a damaged house and vehicle on the block. A Marquette spokesperson confirmed neither property was affiliated with the university. MUPD's initial Safety Alert text went out at 8:04 PM CDT — within minutes of the shooting — but the explanatory email did not arrive until 9:05 PM CDT, a 61-minute lag. The Marquette Wire editorial board, which had previously criticized MUPD for slow notifications, again questioned the cadence. The shooting was the latest in a string of Highland Avenue gun-violence incidents near Marquette in 2024–2025, including a drive-by shooting that wounded a 6-year-old in October 2024, and broader Marquette campus-adjacent gun activity that prompted increased patrols throughout the academic year.
Analysis

Key Findings

The 61-minute gap between the 8:04 PM CDT SMS alert and the 9:05 PM CDT email follow-up renewed Marquette Wire editorial criticism of MUPD's notification cadence under the Clery Act timely-warning obligation
No Marquette students, faculty, or staff were injured; the damaged house and vehicle were unaffiliated with the university despite their proximity to Norris Park
The incident continued a pattern of West Highland Avenue gun violence near Marquette's campus in 2024–2025, including a drive-by that wounded a 6-year-old in October 2024
Outcome
No officers or bystanders were struck. Milwaukee Police recovered evidence at the scene but had not publicly identified a suspect in the days following. The damaged house and vehicle were not affiliated with Marquette, per a university spokesperson. The 61-minute gap between the SMS alert and the follow-up email became a recurring student-paper editorial topic about MUPD's notification cadence.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Shots fired on N 18th Street and West Highland Avenue (The Marquette Wire)
    marquettewire.org
  2. News
    Shots fired near Marquette University campus, police investigate (FOX6 Milwaukee)
    fox6now.com
  3. Student Paper
    EDITORIAL: MUPD must do better, promptly inform campus (The Marquette Wire)
    marquettewire.org
  4. Official
    Alert Notifications (Marquette University Safety)
    marquette.edu
Tags
shootingoff-campusjesuitcatholicmilwaukeenorris-parkdelayed-emailprivate-r2highland-avenue
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion