On February 20, 2023, a dispute over money between neighbors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, culminated in the shooting death of 31-year-old Black / African American male, Victor Gillespie. The incident occurred near 25th and Congress, where Gillespie was found at the top of the staircase in his home with a gunshot wound to his chest.
Events leading up to the fatal shooting began when Gillespie's neighbor, Kenneth Burrows, came to his home demanding money that he was owed.
According to a witness who was in the kitchen at the time, Gillespie said he would pay Burrows the next day. The two men then went upstairs. The witness reported hearing stomping, followed by a single gunshot, and then the sound of something hitting the floor.
Following the gunshot, Burrows came downstairs with a gun in his hand and told the witness to call an ambulance. The witness's phone was upstairs, and upon retrieving it, she said she heard Gillespie take his last breath. Police who responded to the scene found a single bullet casing in the bathtub and noted that a bedroom door on the second floor appeared to have been forced open.
Kenneth Burrows, 34, was arrested and charged with first-degree reckless homicide. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree reckless homicide. In April 2024, Burrows was sentenced to 12 years in prison, to be followed by eight years of extended supervision for his role in Victor Gillespie's death.
