Campus Alert Archive
UW-Madison

Six Guns and 37 Arrests: When the Mifflin Street Block Party Spilled Onto State Street

WIcivil unrestadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On Saturday, April 25, 2026, the annual Mifflin Street Block Party near the University of Wisconsin-Madison drew an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people, one of the largest crowds in years. Madison police recovered six firearms and arrested 37 people, with four guns seized during the day party and two more during fights that broke out near State Street after the crowd shifted that evening. At least one officer was injured breaking up the fights and taken to a hospital.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public R1 · WI
~50,000 studentsWiscAlert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTTwitter/X
Approximate reconstruction198 chars
MPD has closed W. Mifflin Street between Bassett and Bedford to traffic for the annual block party. Officers are in the area. Please plan alternate routes and party safely. Firearms are not allowed.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Officers shut down W. Mifflin Street between Bassett and Bedford to traffic by roughly 11:30 a.m. as students arrived in force; the street-closure geography is taken directly from city coverage.
Reconstructed because the event is documented through a Madison Police incident report and student-press coverage rather than an archived WiscAlert text; the 'firearms not allowed' framing matches the department's repeated public messaging.
UPDATETwitter/X
Approximate reconstruction187 chars
MPD is responding to several fights in the State Street area following the Mifflin block party. Please avoid the area. Two firearms have been recovered and multiple people are in custody.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The evening fights near State Street, not the daytime Mifflin party itself, accounted for two of the six recovered firearms and the officer injury, marking the operational turning point of the day.
Reconstructed update; the police incident report confirmed the substance, including that several fights involved juveniles and that an officer was hospitalized.
Context

Background

The Mifflin Street Block Party is a long-running unsanctioned spring street party in the residential blocks just south of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. On Saturday, April 25, 2026, students began arriving around 11 a.m. and Madison police closed W. Mifflin Street between Bassett and Bedford by 11:30 a.m., with roughly 200 officers walking, biking and monitoring the crowd of 15,000 to 20,000. The daytime party along Mifflin Street stayed relatively orderly, but as the crowd shifted toward State Street in the evening, large fights broke out, several involving juveniles. Police ultimately recovered six firearms and arrested 37 people; 29 were cited and released and eight were booked into the Dane County Jail. At least one officer was injured trying to break up the fights and was taken to a hospital. The block party falls into a recurring category of crowd-management challenges that universities address through advisories and coordination with municipal police rather than Clery emergency notifications.
Analysis

Key Findings

Four of the six firearms were recovered at the daytime Mifflin Street party and two more during evening fights near State Street, showing how the risk migrated geographically over the course of the day
Roughly 200 officers managed a crowd of 15,000 to 20,000, one of the largest Mifflin turnouts in years, underscoring the scale of mutual-aid policing for unsanctioned campus-adjacent events
The incident is documented through an official Madison Police incident report and student-press coverage rather than a campus emergency alert, reflecting that recurring block parties are typically handled as advisories and municipal operations
Outcome
Madison police recovered six firearms and arrested 37 people; 29 were cited and released and eight were booked into the Dane County Jail. At least one officer was injured and hospitalized while breaking up State Street fights, several of which involved juveniles.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    Four guns recovered during Mifflin Street Block Party, two during State Street fighting - City of Madison Police
    cityofmadison.com
  2. Student Paper
    Six firearms recovered, 37 arrested at Mifflin Street Block Party - The Daily Cardinal
    dailycardinal.com
  3. Student Paper
    MPD locates 6 guns during Mifflin Street Block Party - The Badger Herald
    badgerherald.com
  4. News
    Mifflin Street Block Party draws one of the largest crowds in years; 6 guns recovered - WMTV15
    wmtv15news.com
Tags
civil-unrestblock-partywisconsinmadisoncrowd-managementfirearmsadvisory
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion