Rosalind Rogers, a well-known Milwaukee activist known to her peers as “Rozz,” died in the parking lot of north side McDonald’s after being shot on Thursday before dawn.
Milwaukee police said they reported to the 5100 block of North Teutonia Avenue at about 4 a.m. for a report of a shooting. Rogers, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office identified Rogers Thursday afternoon following an autopsy. The medical examiner’s report says her mother was the family contact. Attempts to reach her mother were unsuccessful on Thursday.
Rogers could often be spotted at community engagement events, at crime scenes providing support to victims and their families, and with other notable activists in Milwaukee.
“She was a fierce protector of her people,” said Dee-Dee Davis with ComForce, an activism group led by Vaun Mayes.
Davis, 43, met Rogers about four years ago. “That was my community daughter,” Davis said. “I watched her grow and mature in the movement. I have no words for the situation. Definitely heartbroken.”
Police said they do not have anyone in custody and the investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the department at (414) 935-7360, or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (414) 224-Tips or use the P3 Tips app.
Fifty-one homicides have been reported in the city of Milwaukee in 2024, compared with 65 reported during the same period last year, according to Milwaukee Police Department statistics.
Davis said she will struggle to tell her 12-year-old son about Rogers’ death as the two have grown close. “This is gonna hit him really hard,” she said.
Rogers graduated from Milwaukee’s Assata High School in 2022, according to Davis, after attending Messmer High School as well.
Davis, who washed Rogers’ blood out the McDonald’s parking lot, said she expects local activists and advocates to bring attention to the killing. “If we do it for strangers, of course we gonna do it for our own,” she said.
“None of this is adding up. Like what could she have possibly done? So absolutely we want justice. This is not something that is gonna go by the wayside. It’ll be the same way she stood up and fought for other people in this community.
“Whoever did it truly didn’t know her because to know her was to love her.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Rosalind ‘Rozz’ Rogers, a well-known Milwaukee activist, fatally shot
Source Agencies
