Milwaukee man wanted for killing barber near Burleigh and Lisbon

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Scene near Lisbon and Burleigh, Milwaukee (April 9, 2026)

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man with a criminal history spanning more than four decades is wanted for shooting and killing Pierre Smith on the city's north side earlier this month.

Arrest warrant 

In court:

Court records show a warrant has been issued for the arrest of 64-year-old Fred Shabazz. He's charged with first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon.

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Shabazz has been convicted in several felony cases under both his current legal name and the alias "Fred Jefferson" that date back to 1982, according to a criminal complaint. Those convictions include recklessly endangering safety, theft and drug-related offenses.

Fred Shabazz

Lisbon and Burleigh

The backstory:

The shooting happened on April 9. Milwaukee police said the victim, whose family identified him as 37-year-old Pierre Smith, died at the scene outside a barbershop at Lisbon and Burleigh.

Court filings said a witness told police he planned to have Smith cut his hair that day. They met at the barbershop, ran some errands, and when they returned to the barbershop and Smith was unlocking the door, a man approached them and asked: "Y'all doing cuts."

Pierre Smith (photo provided by family)

The witness said Smith agreed to cut the man's hair, but the man then pushed past the witness, pulled out a gun and shot Smith multiple times, according to the complaint. He said the man then ran west on Burleigh.

Dig deeper:

Surveillance video showed a black cargo van parked a few doors down from the barbershop. Court filings said, roughly 10 minutes after it parked, a man matching the suspect's description got out, walked toward the barbershop, looked around and went back to the van.

Within a minute, prosecutors said the video then showed Smith and the witness pulling up and walking to the barbershop, at which time the suspect got back out of the van and started "walking at a fast pace" toward them. The suspect was seen talking to the witness before he pulled a gun out of his pocket and raised his arm toward Smith, who then fell to the ground. 

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Court filings said the suspect ran away, past the van, and additional video showed him taking off his jogging suit top and hat. He ran through an alley, where another camera captured his face and hairline. When detectives showed two people who knew Shabazz screenshots from the video, they identified the suspect as Shabazz.

Detectives searched the cargo van that the suspect got out of and left at the scene. The complaint said Shabazz was the registered owner, and inside the van, detectives found Wisconsin Department of Corrections paperwork, a water bill, a utility bill and prescription pill bottles – all of which had Shabazz's name on them. 

Detectives then searched the address for Shabazz that was listed on the paperwork found in the cargo van. Inside the home, court filings said they found more identifying information – including a government-issued ID and a social security card. They also found a handgun and bullets, which were of the same caliber and manufacturer as the bullet casings found at the homicide scene.