MILWAUKEE (AP) - A maintenance worker who fatally shot two teens as police say he was being beaten with a baseball bat in Milwaukee was released from jail Friday while prosecutors continue their investigation.
The man was released after initially being arrested on possible homicide charges after Wednesday’s shooting.
“All incidents like this require extensive work by law enforcement and prosecutors,” Milwaukee County Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern said in a statement announcing the man’s release.
Meanwhile, an attorney for the 39-year-old Cudahy man says his client has a permit to carry a gun.
Attorney David Geraghty told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (https://bit.ly/OqBC8Q ) the man “considers it an occupational necessity” to carry a gun because of the nature and location of his work, but he is not a gun rights activist or a hunter.
“We feel pretty confident it was self-defense,” Geraghty said. The man who was beaten was treated for his injuries at a hospital before being arrested.
Police said 17-year-old Anmarie Miller and 19-year-old James Bell Jr., both of Milwaukee, were killed in the stairwell of an apartment building on the city’s west side shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday.
A 20-year-old man who was with the teens was arrested but also was released from jail Friday without being charged.
Police said the three younger people got into an argument with the maintenance worker. One of the three was holding the worker while another beat him with a bat before he drew a gun and fired, police said.
Geraghty declined to discuss specifics of what happened but said the three other people were strangers to his client. He said his client has never before used his gun in a confrontation.
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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, https://www.jsonline.com
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