Two Milwaukee children were shot after throwing snowballs at a car.
The kids, aged 12 and 13, were hurling snowballs at passing cars with a group of children on Saturday night, CNN reports. One of the snowballs hit a white Toyota, and the driver got out and fired shots into the group, striking the two children.
The 12-year-old girl and 13-year-old boy sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a local hospital.
The investigation is currently active, Sgt. Sheronda Grant told the New York Times, adding that the Milwaukee police department is still “seeking an unknown suspect.”
Cavalier Johnson, an alderman for the district where the shooting happened, told the outlet that gun violence was “pretty tame” in the area. “I just couldn’t fathom the idea of shooting at kids because they threw a snowball at you,” he said. “To apply deadly force to that action is totally and just completely senseless and uncalled for.”
He added that the driver had other alternatives, such as speaking to the children or driving to the police station, which is nearby.
According to the Times, it’s not completely unusual for kids playing with snowballs to end in violence. In 2008, a Philadelphia teen was fatally shot after throwing a snowball in an adult’s face, and in February 2019, a Seattle woman was arrested after attempting to run over a group of people after one hit her Jeep with a snowball.
