As Milwaukee students return to the classroom this week, a new TMJ4 investigation in collaboration with The Trace reveals gun violence has become a reality many children experience long before they step foot inside a school.
The Trace is a national non-profit newsroom that focuses on gun violence in America and gathering data surrounding that topic.
The investigation found more than 4,100 shootings occurred within 500 yards of Milwaukee-area schools between 2017 and 2025. The analysis also found Milwaukee has the second-highest rate of school-adjacent shootings among large U.S. cities, trailing only Baltimore and ranking ahead of Chicago…