Anthony Rivers, a 34-year-old Black man from Milwaukee, was fatally shot during the early morning hours of September 25, 2017. The shooting occurred at approximately 12:55 a.m. near North 40th Street and West Villard Avenue on Milwaukee’s north side. Records associated with the homicide identify the incident location more specifically as 5174 N. 40th Street.
According to information released by Milwaukee police at the time, Rivers became involved in a fight with a male suspect.
The confrontation escalated when the suspect produced a firearm and shot Rivers. Police responding to the incident found Rivers suffering from serious gunshot injuries. Despite efforts following the shooting, he was pronounced dead.
The killing occurred during a violent stretch in Milwaukee in which police were investigating several unrelated shootings over September 24 and the early hours of September 25. Rivers' shooting was treated as a separate homicide, and investigators immediately began searching for the person involved in the fight and subsequent gunfire. Early police reporting did not publicly identify the suspect by name or provide a detailed description beyond indicating that investigators were looking for the person who had fought with Rivers.
The available homicide records continue to identify the perpetrator as unknown. The case is listed as unsolved, with the Milwaukee Police Department identified as the investigating law-enforcement agency. Publicly available records do not indicate that a suspect was subsequently arrested or formally charged in connection with Rivers' killing, and no reliable online reporting located for the case documents a prosecution, trial, guilty plea, or conviction.
As a result, the known circumstances remain centered on the confrontation shortly before 1:00 a.m.: Rivers became involved in a fight near 40th and Villard, the other participant shot him, and the gunman escaped before being taken into custody. Investigators were left attempting to determine the circumstances that led to the fight and identify the shooter. Years after the killing, publicly available homicide databases still characterize the case as unresolved, with no named suspect and no documented arrest or conviction for Rivers' death.
