5:44 a.m. CET
Jamal Collier ESPN
MILWAUKEE — Three people were shot dead near the Deer District in front of the Fiserv Forum late in Friday night’s sixth game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, causing fans to flee there through the streets.
The Milwaukee Fire Department said a man and woman were taken to the hospital Friday night while a third person drove there. All three have life-threatening injuries.
According to the police, a 29-year-old man is in custody.
“The incident occurred outside of the Deer District area,” Milwaukee Bucks chief communications officer Barry Baum said in a statement to ESPN. “We direct all questions to the Milwaukee Police Department.”
Bucks fans began flocking to the Deer District during the team’s run to the NBA championship last season. With a chance to win the Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Celtics and on a warm day after a long winter here, Friday was the fans’ first opportunity to resume tradition. The team even had metal detectors set up around the bars and the entrance to the stage outside of the arena.
But the shooting took place outside of that boundary, about a block from the Fiserv Forum.
The Bucks announced before the game that the Deer District had officially reached the 11,000-person capacity set for the pre-Game 6 Watch Party.
Witnesses outside the arena said they heard gunshots in the fourth quarter of Boston’s 108-95 win that stayed a little over a minute before the end, sending many in the crowd into a frenzy and running in different directions.
A large police presence remained outside the arena for hours after the game ended, with police cordoning off several nearby intersections. An investigation is underway.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.