'It's Not Safe for White People' Reporter Leaves Milwaukee After Seeing White Man Get Shot

Milwaukee's police chief says an 18-year-old man suffered a single gunshot wound to the neck during unrest on the city's north side, but that his life is not in danger.

The man, whose name has not been released, was shot late Sunday during a demonstration to protest the killing of a black man by a police officer a day earlier.

Police have said officers used an armored vehicle to retrieve the injured man and take him to a hospital. Police did not say who shot him, but that they are looking for suspects.

Alderman Khalif Rainey said the area has been a "powder keg" for potential violence throughout the summer.

"What happened ... may not have been right, and I am not justifying that, but no one can deny the fact that there are problems, racial problems in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that need to be rectified," Rainey said. "This community of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has become the worst place to live for African-Americans in the entire country."

Rainey said Saturday's violence was a byproduct of inequities, injustice, unemployment and lack of educational opportunities.

"Something has to be done to address these issues," he said. "The black people of Milwaukee are tired; they are tired of living under this oppression. This is their life."

Racial tensions have long permeated the city.

"People are afraid of each other," resident Reginald Jackson said last year. "Black people are afraid of the white parts of town. White people are afraid of the black and Latino parts of town."

Statistics back up Jackson's claim. Milwaukee is the most segregated major city between black and white residents, according to a city of Milwaukee health assessment.

White residents from suburban Milwaukee often avoid the northern, mostly black part of the city, driving around it.