Milwaukee – Three people were killed near the Deer District outside the Fiserv Forum near the conclusion of Friday night’s game six between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, sending fans fleeing the streets.
The Milwaukee Fire Department said a man and a woman were taken to the hospital Friday night, while a third person drove the car there. All three had non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said a 29-year-old man is in custody.
“The incident occurred outside of the Deer District,” Barry Bohm, the Milwaukee Bucks’ chief communications officer, said in a statement to ESPN. “We direct all questions to the Milwaukee Police Department.”
Bucks fans began gathering in the Deer District during the team’s march to the NBA Championship last season. With a chance to snatch the semi-final series of the Eastern Conference against the Celtics, and on a warm day after a long winter here, Friday was the first chance for fans to pick up on the tradition. The team even placed metal detectors surrounding the bars and the entrance to the stage outside the arena.
But the shooting took place outside that perimeter, about a block from the Fiserv Forum.
The Bucks announced before the match that Deer District had officially reached 11,000 people set for their pre-match 6 viewing party.
Witnesses outside the stadium said they heard gunshots before there was just over a minute left in the final quarter of Boston’s 108-95 victory, which drove many of the crowd into a frenzy, running in several different directions.
A large police presence remained outside the arena hours after the match ended, with police recording several intersections nearby. Investigation is underway.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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