A 99-year-old Milwaukee woman is recovering in a rehabilitation center after authorities say a stranger broke into her home and brutally attacked her, while questions continue to mount over why it took nearly three hours for police to respond after she called 911 multiple times.
WISN 12 News reporter Jasmine Franklin identified the woman only as Shirley, at the request of her attorneys, who said she suffered more than 100 stitches, multiple facial fractures and severe lacerations during the July attack at her south side home.
Her attorneys said the injuries were so serious that she may never walk again and may also be unable to return to the home where she had been living independently.
“Something like this should not happen,” one of Shirley’s attorneys said.
Shirley Called 911 Three Times During The Attack
Franklin reported that Shirley made three emergency calls while the home invasion was unfolding, including one call in which she could be heard screaming while a man shouted threats.
The first call came in around 5:15 a.m. through Life Alert, but the city’s emergency communications system initially classified the situation as a welfare check rather than a battery in progress.
That distinction mattered because a welfare check carries a lower priority than an active violent attack.
Three hours passed before police were dispatched.
Milwaukee police eventually arrested a man in his 20s who was accused of breaking into Shirley’s home, while medics took her to the hospital with injuries that were initially described as nonfatal.
Franklin later reported that the full extent of those injuries was much more serious than the early description suggested.
Shirley’s attorneys said she required more than 100 stitches and was left with several deep cuts and facial fractures.
For a 99-year-old person living alone, that kind of delay during an active attack is especially troubling because even injuries that might be survivable for a younger person can carry much greater consequences.
City Acknowledges The Response Failed
Tony Bueno, director of Milwaukee’s newly created Department of Emergency Communications, acknowledged that the handling of the call fell short.
“For something like this, it’s unacceptable, and I believe that we in the department could have done better,” Bueno said.
He explained that the first call had been misclassified as a welfare check, which reduced the urgency attached to the response.
Bueno said the department was reviewing its internal training process to prevent a similar failure from happening again.
“If it were my loved one, I would have wanted them to react much quicker, with much more urgency, and that didn’t happen,” he said.
In a later statement aired by Franklin, Bueno again acknowledged that the department did not meet its own mission and standards during the incident.
That admission is significant because the debate is not simply about whether response times were slow in a general sense; officials have acknowledged that the call itself was handled incorrectly.
Two Dispatchers Resigned After The Incident
Franklin reported that two dispatchers involved in the response later resigned amid the fallout.
The Department of Emergency Communications had previously placed personnel on leave while the incident was being reviewed.
Shirley’s attorneys said they believe the case points to a need for stronger dispatcher training and more reliable emergency procedures.
One attorney said people should be able to trust that when a family member, loved one or stranger is facing an immediate threat, help will actually be sent with the urgency the situation requires.
“We all should expect that when we make a call like that … we can trust that a response will come,” the attorney said.
That expectation is basic to the entire 911 system.
When someone calls during an active home invasion, they are often doing so because they have no other safe option left, which makes mistakes in classification or dispatch especially consequential.
Attorneys Say The Attack Appears To Have Been Random
Franklin asked whether the suspect knew Shirley or whether the attack appeared to have been targeted.
Her attorneys said their preliminary investigation suggested the attack was random.
That makes the case even more disturbing because Shirley had apparently done nothing to bring the suspect into her home or make herself a specific target.
Her attorneys described her as a vibrant 99-year-old who loved life before the attack.
Now, she is recovering in a rehabilitation facility while facing the possibility that she may never regain the level of independence she had before.
They also said there is a serious concern that she will not be able to return to her home because of the trauma associated with what happened there.
The physical injuries are severe enough on their own, but the psychological impact of being attacked inside a place that had been considered safe may prove just as lasting.
A Lawsuit Is Under Consideration
Shirley’s attorneys told Franklin they are considering legal action against the city, although no lawsuit had been filed at the time of the report.
They said they still do not have the full investigative picture because some city records and files have not yet been turned over.
“At this stage, we don’t have a complete picture from the city,” one attorney said.
The legal team is in communication with Milwaukee City Attorney Evan Goyke and has requested additional documentation related to the early-morning response.
WISN 12 has also requested the same records but had not received them when Franklin reported the story.
The Department of Emergency Communications was also asked to respond to the possibility of a lawsuit but had not provided a comment.
That means some of the most important questions remain unresolved, including exactly how the three calls were handled, what information dispatchers had in real time and why the initial mistake was not corrected more quickly.
Shirley Faces A Long Recovery
For now, Shirley remains in rehabilitation.
Her attorneys said there is a real possibility that she may never walk again, and they are concerned she may also lose the ability to live in the home where she had built her life.
The incident has therefore become more than a criminal case against the man accused of attacking her.
It is also a test of whether Milwaukee’s emergency response system can explain how a violent call was misclassified, why help took nearly three hours to arrive and what changes will be made to prevent another person from facing the same kind of delay.
Franklin’s report made clear that Shirley’s attorneys are not satisfied with apologies alone.
They want accountability, stronger procedures and answers about how an elderly woman could call for help repeatedly during a violent attack and still wait hours before emergency crews reached her.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
