MILWAUKEE — A knife-wielding homeless man who allegedly “heard voices” was shot dead outside the Republican National Convention Tuesday — marking the second fatality at a GOP event in days.
A witness at the scene told The Post that the man was swinging two steak knives at police about five blocks away from the GOP event’s headquarters — just two hours before the nation’s leading party members were slated to take the stage.
“He had this look in his eyes that was nothing I’ve ever seen before in four months of knowing him,” said Edward Watkins, a fellow homeless man who claimed to be the victim’s best friend.
Several eyewitnesses said the victim was “shot in the back” while he was trying to run away from security. At least eight gunshots were heard, with some claiming the bullets came from up to eight police officers.
The Columbus, Ohio, Fraternal Order of Police confirmed members of its department were involved in the shooting, but had little details about what led to the incident.
Alexi Worley, a spokesperson in the convention’s joint command center, said there was nothing to suggest the shooting was related to the convention itself.
A man claiming to be the victim’s brother told The Post that the unidentified man was homeless — there is a large “tent city” in the area.
Watkins identified the dead man as “Sam,” but said he was known to others in the encampment as “Jehovah,” referring to a voice Sam heard in his head.
It was known in the community that Sam “wanted to die,” Watkins said, adding that “Jehovah” made frequent appearances in the past few days.
“He just told me he was having these thoughts in his head. And he said, “Jehovah’s coming down.” And I believed him, because I hear voices, too,” Watkins said.
“So when he ran toward the front with the knives, I knew he was ready to go.”
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Watkins claimed Sam wasn’t waving the knives at police or trying to engage with them when he was gunned down.
The grieving man did not know Sam’s last name and said that the two only knew one another for four months. Both lived in the tent city and did crack cocaine together, he said.
“That’s what we love to do. When we’re in Tent City, we feel we’re free,” Watkins said.
Milwaukee officials could not confirm the identity of the victim, though the county medical examiner confirmed an adult male was shot and killed.
The shooting comes just three days after former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated in a shooting on Saturday. There has been a heavy police presence at the RNC throughout the week.
This a developing story. Please check back for more updates.