Milwaukee woman loses niece in Colorado shooting - WXOW News 19 La Crosse, WI – News, Weather and Sports |

MILWAUKEE (WKOW) -- One of the 12 people killed in Friday morning's mass shooting has family in south Milwaukee.

At first, the family of 23-year-old Micayla Melek only knew that she had been at the midnight showing with her friends and that she was missing.

Friday night, police confirmed Melek was among the dead.

Micayla's aunt and father grew up in Milwaukee. Her father moved to Colorado two years ago for a job. Her aunt, Jenny Zakovich, says Micayla had a lot of friends, liked to have fun, and was all around a great kid.

"You see stories like this on the news and you never imagine that something like this could happen to you. It's like, who ever thought that this would immediately affect my family? When I see other shootings and events and I think oh my gosh, I can't imagine what those families are going through. Well, now I can imagine what those families are going through and it's a nightmare. It's absolutely a nightmare," Zakovich says.

She went on to say Micayla's older sister visited eight hospitals Friday, searching for her.