Donald McGraw II, a 49-year-old man from Milwaukee, was killed during an early-morning double shooting on July 22, 2025. The gunfire erupted at approximately 2:30 a.m. near North 41st Street and West Glendale Avenue in Milwaukee's Old North Milwaukee neighborhood. McGraw was shot alongside his friend, Julius Arberry, 50, as the two men were outside a residence in the area. Both men died at the scene.
Arberry's family told reporters that he lived at the residence and that McGraw was a friend who frequently visited him. Neighbors described the two as quiet and cordial men who generally kept to themselves. One neighbor recalled that the men had simply been sitting outside in the yard before the shooting. Shortly afterward, the peaceful overnight hours were shattered by gunfire, with residents reporting that they were awakened by multiple shots at about 2:30 a.m.
When authorities arrived, they found the two victims in separate locations immediately outside the residence. Information from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office indicated that Arberry was found on the sidewalk in front of the home, while McGraw was found on the porch steps. Neighbors who emerged after hearing the shots discovered the aftermath before investigators secured the scene. One resident reported hearing approximately three gunshots before looking outside and seeing the two victims.
Investigators did not publicly identify what led to the shooting. Milwaukee police treated the deaths as a double homicide and began searching for whoever was responsible, but early reports contained no description or identity of a suspected shooter and provided no established motive. Police also did not indicate whether McGraw and Arberry had been specifically targeted or whether investigators had determined what happened immediately before the gunfire.
The killings were particularly disturbing to residents because the same immediate area near 41st Street and Glendale Avenue had already been the scene of another fatal shooting less than two months earlier. An 18-year-old, later identified as Nakwon Genous, had been fatally shot there on May 31, 2025. Following the July double homicide, neighbors expressed fear and frustration that another deadly act of violence had occurred in a neighborhood where residents and community organizations had been working to improve safety.
No publicly reported arrest, criminal charge, trial, or conviction connected specifically to the murders of Donald McGraw and Julius Arberry was located in subsequent available reporting. Police continued to seek information about the person or persons responsible, and the publicly released accounts did not name a suspect or establish a motive. The case therefore remained an active homicide investigation in the most recent publicly available information located.
