Gregory G. McElwee III, a 42-year-old Black/African American man, was fatally shot on May 27, 2026, at the Milwaukee apartment building where he lived near North 94th Street and West Carmen Avenue. Although some news and court-related coverage referred to him as Gregory McElwee Jr., the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him as Gregory McElwee III, and his obituary also used that name.
McElwee was an Army veteran and a father of six whose relatives remembered him as someone who was frequently smiling, willing to help others, and deeply devoted to his children. His death unfolded inside the place he shared with one of his sons, turning what authorities described as an ongoing dispute between neighbors into a fatal confrontation.
Investigators said McElwee lived in an upstairs unit and that Joshua Jordan lived directly below him. According to the criminal complaint, Jordan had repeatedly complained to the landlord about noise he believed was coming from McElwee’s apartment. The disagreement had reportedly been continuing for about a month, and prosecutors alleged that the landlord possessed earlier text messages in which Jordan had threatened to kill McElwee. On the morning of the shooting, Jordan contacted the landlord at approximately 8:25 a.m. to complain about noise. Roughly half an hour later, he allegedly called again and said that if the landlord was not going to deal with the problem, he would take care of it himself.
McElwee returned home from work at about 9:40 that morning, according to an account his teenage son later gave investigators. An argument soon developed between McElwee and Jordan in the hallway. McElwee’s son, aware that his father had previously mentioned problems involving the downstairs neighbor and noise complaints, moved closer to the apartment door and began recording what was happening. He told investigators that Jordan was carrying a black handgun and was yelling threats while McElwee was moving away from him. Prosecutors allege Jordan then began firing. McElwee ran toward his apartment, got inside and attempted to close the door, but Jordan allegedly pursued him and kicked the door open.
McElwee’s son managed to force the door closed again and lock it. He then saw that his father had been shot in the chest. The teenager called 911 and attempted to help him, but McElwee was unable to speak after being wounded. Police and emergency personnel arrived and found him suffering from gunshot wounds. Efforts to save him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. McElwee’s uncle later said the teenager had witnessed his father being killed and attempted to resuscitate him, leaving the family particularly concerned about the lasting impact the shooting would have on the child.
Other witnesses provided investigators with additional details about the moments surrounding the gunfire. One neighbor reportedly encountered Jordan in the hallway holding a black semiautomatic handgun and saw him manipulating the gun’s slide. The complaint alleges that he picked ammunition up from the floor and placed it in his pocket. When the neighbor raised her hands and pleaded not to be shot, Jordan allegedly told her that he was not going to shoot her. Investigators recovered evidence from the hallway that included a fired cartridge casing and an unfired Hornady 9mm cartridge, along with blood in the stairwell and damage to McElwee’s apartment door. A shoe impression on the damaged door was described as being consistent with the type of Nike Air Max 95 shoes Jordan was wearing when police later apprehended him.
Jordan allegedly fled the apartment complex in a black Audi before officers could take him into custody there. Police located the vehicle and attempted to stop it, beginning a pursuit that continued for approximately four miles. According to the criminal complaint and local reporting, the Audi reached speeds approaching 100 mph before the chase ended when it crashed into construction barrels near Capitol Drive. Jordan was pulled from the vehicle and arrested. Police reported recovering a firearm from the locked glove compartment of the Audi, while a search connected to the investigation also produced Hornady 9mm ammunition that investigators believed was consistent with ammunition found at the shooting scene.
Prosecutors subsequently charged Joshua Jordan with first-degree intentional homicide, with reporting also identifying a dangerous-weapon allegation, as well as first-degree recklessly endangering safety and operating a motor vehicle to flee or elude an officer. The recklessly endangering allegation stemmed from circumstances surrounding the shooting in an occupied apartment building, while the fleeing charge arose from the police pursuit following McElwee’s death. Jordan appeared in Milwaukee County court in early June, where cash bond was set at $350,000. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 11, 2026.
McElwee’s family described his killing as senseless and emphasized the life and family left behind rather than the dispute that preceded the shooting. Relatives said he was a single father and Army veteran, and his uncle described him as a person who was always happy and trying to help others. A vigil was planned near the apartment building after his death, and a celebration of his life was later scheduled in Milwaukee, followed by interment at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove. As of the most recent reliable publicly accessible reporting located for the case, Jordan had been arrested and formally charged, but no published source reviewed confirmed that the case had yet resulted in a trial, guilty plea, or conviction.
