Milwaukee Bucks cancel Game 7 watch party in Deer District following Friday night's shootings

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks have canceled a watch party for Sunday's Game 7 against the Boston Celtics after 21 people were injured in three separate shootings near an entertainment district in downtown Milwaukee following the Bucks' Game 6 loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday night.

A spokesman for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said in a text that the team decided to cancel the event «after consultation with the city and public safety agencies.''

The watch party in the Deer District likely would have drawn well over 10,000 people. The Bucks said 11,000 attended a Game 6 watch party, even as more than 19,000 others were inside Fiserv Forum.

»The shootings that happened in downtown Milwaukee last night were horrific and we condemn this devastating violence,'' the Bucks said in a statement. It said the watch party was called off «to allow law enforcement to devote needed resources to the continued investigation of last night's events,» but noted that Deer District businesses will remain open.

Three people were shot near Deer District outside Fiserv Forum toward the end of Friday night's game, sending fans fleeing through the streets. One person was injured in a second shooting before a third less than a mile from the arena left 17 people with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

A man and a 16-year-old girl who were injured in the first shooting were transported to a local hospital Friday night, while a third person drove there, according to the Milwaukee Fire Department. All three have non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said a 19-year-old man was in custody from the first shooting and that charges were pending a review by the Milwaukee County district attorney's