On what should have been a joyous celebration, Erianica Primer, a 27-year-old Black/African American woman, tragically lost her life in the early morning hours of September 10, 2020. She was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ringing in her 27th birthday with friends at a nightclub near 76th and Good Hope. The night, however, took a devastating turn, leaving a void in the lives of her loved ones, particularly her two young sons.
Inside the club, an argument broke out between Primer and a few other
women. The disagreement spilled outside, and it was there, around 1:30 a.m., that the celebration turned into a scene of violence. Erianica was shot, and despite the immediate response from authorities, she was pronounced dead at the scene. The sudden and violent end to a life just beginning its 27th year sent shockwaves of grief through her family and the wider community. Her mother, overcome with sorrow, described the experience as a nightmare from which she wished she could awake, remembering her daughter as a smart, intelligent, and energetic woman who deeply loved her boys.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Milwaukee police took a 36-year-old man into custody at the scene. The case was slated for review by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, as the family and community awaited answers and sought justice for a life cut tragically short. The loss of Erianica Primer on the very day she was celebrating her birth left her family to grapple with an immeasurable tragedy, her sister poignantly stating, "She should have never died on her birthday."
