Milwaukee City Wire

As the bullets started to fly in the downtown area on the evening of May 13 following a Milwaukee Bucks playoff game, Shep-Q food truck owner Doyle Shepherd remembers jumping into action.

"I told everyone to get down right away because it was so close it was rocking my trailer," Shepherd told WISN, adding he did all he could to keep people safe.

By the time the gunfire and mayhem subsided in the heart of the city’s entertainment district, 21 were people injured, 17 of them on Water Street, in an eruption Shepherd estimates lasted about 10 seconds.

Over that time, Shepherd said he, his wife and two daughters were forced to dive for cover in their barbecue truck after being trapped in the crossfire. He said based on where his food truck was he was unable to get out until around 5 a.m. the next morning as he spent several hours watching officers put down markers to account for more than 80 shell casings.

The violent episode has left city officials desperately looking for answers in hopes of never having to see it happen again.

"We'll be working on the food trucks that act as a congregant for folks who come down here," Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson told WISN. "Look, I want to do everything that's in our power in order to curb the incidents that we saw last night. I know that's a place that folks congregate so that's an area that I'm looking at, too."

While he agrees something needs to be done to increase the level of security in the area, ultimately Shepherd is hoping to see cooler heads prevail.

"It's not a food truck problem at all,” he said to WISN. “If he regulates the food trucks, that's just like saying Giannis is part of the problem, or the restaurants down there are part of the problem. I'm born and raised in Milwaukee. I like to spend my money here and make my money here, but if I have to change, that's what I'll have to do. I have to keep my family safe."