Devenire Matlock, a 30-year-old Black man, was killed during the early morning hours of November 7, 2025, in Milwaukee. Milwaukee police said the fatal shooting occurred at approximately 1 a.m. in the area of North 12th Street and West Ring Street. Matlock was found with gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office later publicly identified him as the person killed.
In the days after the shooting, additional information from
Matlock’s family provided a clearer picture of the hours leading to the discovery. His mother, Nonchantlon Lathan, said Matlock’s cellphone location had been showing in the area near Ring Street since approximately 9 p.m. the previous evening. According to Lathan, several hours passed before a friend went to the location around 12:30 a.m. and discovered Matlock inside a vehicle. The car was still running and appeared to have been struck by gunfire. The friend told Lathan that Matlock was inside with his head leaning to the side and appeared to be dead. Matlock’s sister then rushed to the area and called 911.
The circumstances raised painful questions for Matlock’s family because his phone apparently remained at the location for hours before anyone realized what had happened. His mother said she was left wondering whether an earlier discovery might have given him a chance to survive, although there was no public determination that he could have been saved. The killing also left his three daughters without their father. His family described the effect on the children as especially difficult, with his youngest daughter still asking to call him after his death. A fundraising effort was subsequently established to help with funeral expenses and support his children.
Investigators did not immediately announce a motive or provide a description of the person responsible. Initial police reporting stated that authorities were continuing to seek anyone involved and asked members of the public with information to contact the Milwaukee Police Department or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers. The available reporting did not indicate whether investigators believed Matlock had been specifically targeted, whether more than one person participated in the shooting, or what events immediately preceded the gunfire.
More than a week after the killing, the investigation remained without a publicly identified suspect. On November 17, Matlock’s mother appealed for answers and said she wanted the person who killed her son taken into custody before anyone else could be harmed. At that point, police said no one was in custody and investigators still did not know who they were looking for. No suspect description had been released and no arrest had been announced.
Publicly available reporting located after that update did not identify a subsequent arrest, criminal charge, trial or conviction connected to Matlock’s killing. The case therefore remained publicly unresolved in the available sources, with investigators relying on information from witnesses or others who might know what occurred near Ring Street during the hours before Matlock was found. His family continued to seek an explanation for why he was killed and accountability for the person responsible.
