Homicides rose in Milwaukee in 2025, with unofficial figures showing a jump to 142 homicides from 132 the previous year.
Milwaukee officials have yet to pin down any specific reason for the increase, especially as violent crime – and overall shootings – declined significantly throughout 2025.
“It’s kind of vexing as to what’s going on,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The year’s homicide total is from official police data updated through Dec. 29 and no homicides have been reported in the days since. The official number will be reported on Jan. 2 and could change from the 142 now being reported as police continue to investigate shootings.
The difference between what’s happened with fatal shootings and other categories of crime in Milwaukee this year is stark.
Non-fatal shootings dropped to 515 in 2025, down from 637, a 19% decrease, from the previous year, according to Milwaukee police data updated through Dec. 29. The number of aggravated assault also dropped by about 22%.
Looking at homicides alongside other statistics is a more accurate way to get an idea of the city’s safety, Milwaukee Assistant Chief Nicole Waldner previously told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The department is looking at reasons for the rise in homicides, but none alone can explain why there were 10 more this year.
The department is looking into things like the parole or probation status of suspects, increases in victims self-transporting to receive medical care (instead of calling 911), and looking further in the relationship between victim and suspect, Waldner said.
Firearms remain an overwhelmingly consistent part of the city’s homicides as well. Nearly 89% of the city’s homicides were committed by a person using a gun.
Johnson said that political inaction over gun policy changes at the state and federal level is “mind boggling.”
“Local governments in Wisconsin don’t control gun law,” he said.
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman previously told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s editorial board that differences in state firearms laws could also help explain another troubling part of the city’s homicide statistics.
The uptick in Milwaukee homicides runs counter to a national trend of homicides dropped 18% through much of 2025, according to the FBI.
Norman said more work is needed in violence prevention programs, a practice that includes things like community violence interruption that has been credited for stopping violence before it occurs.
Part of that work is focused on improving conflict resolution as well. This year, over 48% of homicides’ cause was either primarily or in part from an argument/fight or were done in retaliation, police data shows.
“Those are problems all of us collectively as a community should be able to address,” Johnson said.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee homicides increase in 2025, despite overall drop in violent crimes
Reporting by David Clarey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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