Family members, friends and community organizations are mourning Corey Durell Ruiz, a 38-year-old Madison man who was fatally shot by a Madison police officer during an encounter on the city’s Near East Side on July 22, 2026.
Ruiz’s death has brought grief to those who knew him while also prompting questions about the circumstances of the police shooting. The incident remains under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, meaning important questions about what happened have not yet been finally resolved.
In the days following Ruiz’s death, members of the Madison community gathered at a makeshift memorial near South Baldwin and Williamson streets. Flowers, candles, balloons and handwritten messages were placed at the site as friends, neighbors and others came to remember him.
Hundreds of people also attended a vigil the following evening, where Ruiz was remembered not simply for the circumstances of his death but for the life he lived and the relationships he built.
Friends have described Ruiz as someone whose personality and interests made a lasting impression. Tony Smith, who told Wisconsin Public Radio that he had known Ruiz since middle school, recalled bonding with him over basketball and rap music. Smith said Ruiz’s passion for music even inspired him to begin rapping himself.
Those memories have become particularly important to people who believe Ruiz should be remembered as a person rather than defined solely by the events that ended his life.
Ruiz was also a father. His 13-year-old daughter, Kah’liyah Aliomar, was among those mourning him at a Madison vigil. Her presence underscored the personal consequences of his death for the family members he leaves behind.
According to accounts from police and news organizations, officers were dispatched shortly before 1 p.m. July 22 following a report involving a person allegedly checking the handles of parked vehicles in Madison’s Marquette neighborhood.
Police located Ruiz and attempted to make contact with him. Authorities said he fled on a bicycle and moved through nearby yards before officers caught up with him.
Madison Police Chief John Patterson said officers attempted to use less-lethal force during the encounter. A Taser was deployed but was unsuccessful, according to the chief.
Police subsequently said Ruiz wounded an officer with a knife before an officer fired a weapon. Ruiz was fatally shot at the scene.
Four Madison police officers were placed on leave following the shooting while the independent investigation proceeds. The identities of the officer who fired the shots and other officers involved were initially not publicly released.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice investigation is expected to examine the events leading to the shooting, the officers’ actions, the attempted use of less-lethal force and the circumstances surrounding the use of deadly force.
Because that investigation remains ongoing, no final conclusion should be drawn about whether the shooting was legally justified or whether any officer violated department policy.
Ruiz’s death has also prompted calls for transparency from his family and community advocates. Attorney Ben Crump announced that he had been retained by Ruiz’s family and said the family was seeking answers regarding the circumstances of the shooting.
Organizations including the YWCA Madison, NAACP Dane County and Urban League of Greater Madison have also mourned Ruiz and called for an independent and transparent investigation.
For Ruiz’s family and friends, however, the tragedy extends beyond the investigation. His death has left behind a daughter, relatives and longtime friends who are now confronting the loss of someone whose life included relationships, interests and memories that existed long before July 22.
As the state investigation continues, those who knew Ruiz are holding onto those memories while waiting for authorities to provide a fuller account of what happened.
For many in Madison, the case represents both a personal tragedy and a broader conversation about policing, accountability and the use of force. But at the center of that conversation remains the loss of Corey Durell Ruiz, a 38-year-old father, friend and longtime member of the Madison community.
