12-year-old Ronnel Smith shot and killed inside Bug N Out lounge in West Allis

On Saturday night, during a 17-year-old’s birthday party in a West Allis lounge, a 12-year-old boy was fatally shot.

Authorities have since identified the victim as Ronnel Smith, who was found outside of Bug N Out Lounge.

Although he would have celebrated his 13th birthday in a week, Ronnel tragically lost his life that night.

Following reports of possible gunshots in the area of 56th Street and Lincoln Avenue around 9 p.m., West Allis police responded and discovered two victims who had been shot.

Ronnel Smith passed away at the scene, while a 17-year-old boy was transported to a nearby hospital and is expected to survive.

According to Keda Sisson, the grandmother of the victim Ronnel Smith, a few high school kids had been bullying Ronnel on social media for a while and trying to steal his prescription glasses.

Sisson explained that a fight broke out at the party, and that’s when gunshots were heard. The tragic incident has affected not only Ronnel’s family but also the family of Damein Shiabazz, who had two grandsons and a niece at the party.

Shiabazz expressed his frustration with senseless violence that continues to impact families. He added that he couldn’t understand what a 12-year-old could have done to deserve such a fate.

Meanwhile, the owner of the Bug N Out Lounge, Amy Thompson, stated that the lounge’s second floor is frequently rented out for events, but she had never witnessed a shooting there before.

Thompson claimed that even the police said the lounge was not a problem bar. As of Monday afternoon, the investigation into the shooting remains ongoing, and no one has been arrested in connection with the case.

Unfortunately, according to the Gun Violence Archive, this year alone, one child and four teenagers have been killed in shootings across the state of Wisconsin.