Kenosha high school student killed, others wounded; 2 charged

KENOSHA, Wis. - Kenosha County prosecutors charged two people with multiple felonies after a Bradford High School student was shot and killed, and two other students were wounded, last week.

Charges filed

In court:

Court records show 19-year-old Carlito Ayala and 16-year-old Aaron Cumberland are each charged with first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, substantial battery and armed robbery as parties to a crime. They are each also charged with a gun possession-related felony.

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Ayala and Cumberland made their initial appearances in court on Tuesday. Ayala's bond was set at $2 million, while Cumberland's was set at $1 million.

Court filings indicate Ayala was previously convicted of hit-and-run, among other charges, in 2023. In June 2025, he was convicted of possession of a gun as a felon.

Shooting scene

The backstory:

Kenosha police were called to the area of Library Park, near 6th Avenue and 60th Street, for a "med call" and reported gunshots just before 8 p.m. on Feb. 4.

When officers got to the scene, a criminal complaint said they found a black SUV parked with the driver's door open and the passenger's side windows shattered. Someone was performing CPR on a 16-year-old boy who appeared to be unconscious on the street, and a 19-year-old man was sitting on the sidewalk.

The 16-year-old boy, identified in court filings as Isaiah Cooper, died from multiple gunshot wounds. The 19-year-old man had also been shot. A 15-year-old boy had been hit with a gun.

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Investigators found four bullet casings at the scene. Ballistics testing linked all four casings to the gun Ayala used in the shooting, according to prosecutors.

Dig deeper:

Police collected surveillance video from a business near the shooting scene. The complaint said it showed Ayala and Cumberland leave the apartment building and, less than a minute later, the victims' SUV pulled up and parked in front. 

Ayala and Cumberland walked up to the passenger side of the SUV, out of view of the camera. Seconds later, the complaint said a car door closed and the SUV – still parked – began to rev its engine. Roughly 30 seconds later, the 19-year-old victim and Cooper entered the frame and moved toward the SUV. 

The 19-year-old went to the passenger side of the SUV out of view, and court filings said there was another loud noise "consistent with opening a car door." The 15-year-old began to get out of the vehicle, and seconds later, there were three apparent gunshots and, after a short pause, one more "loud bang." Cooper then fell to the ground.

Ayala was seen grabbing and lifting Cooper off the ground as Cumberland stood against the apartment building. A voice could be heard saying "I got it," and Ayala and Cumberland went back inside. 

What they're saying:

The complaint said a witness, who had been performing CPR when police got to the scene, said "Aaron" ran up on his friends and "was trying to rob them." He said he knew "Aaron," later identified as Cumberland, from Bradford High School. He said he was in the SUV when he heard "loud bangs and glass from the vehicle was shattering." He said he heard someone say, "bro we gotta go" and, "shoot them, shoot them." He said two or three people had run up to the car, and he believed the shooting was targeted because Cumberland had been "trying to rob his friends for a while."

Police interview victims

What they're saying:

Detectives spoke to the 19-year-old victim at a hospital. Court filings said he told detectives that he was taking his brother, the 15-year-old victim, to buy shoes, and the person he was trying to buy the shoes from tried to rob him. He said he was struggling with a suspect when he was shot.

Officers spoke to the 15-year-old victim at the scene. At first, the complaint said he told police "we were just trying to buy some shoes" from some people off Facebook Marketplace; he later admitted they actually went to buy a gun.

When detectives later spoke to the 15-year-old, court filings said he added that the person he planned to buy the gun from told him to come alone, so his 19-year-old brother and Cooper got out of the SUV roughly a block away. He said he asked a friend to stay with him. He was "dazed" after he was hit with the gun, per the complaint, but he regained focus and remembered seeing his brother there – believing his brother heard the commotion. He also said he heard one suspect, later identified as Ayala, saying: "I'll shoot you, I ain't playing."

The 15-year-old said the 19-year-old was trying to point Cumberland's gun away from everyone, according to the complaint. He said he heard shots when Cooper tried to open a door to the SUV. He said no one in his group had a gun, but both Ayala and Cumberland were wearing ski masks and pointing guns at him during the incident.

Prosecutors said the 15-year-old victim identified as Cumberland as the person who set up the gun sale. He then admitted that he planned to "take (the gun)" from Cumberland – but did not actually try to take it because the suspects started to hit him. He noticed one of the suspects' guns had a red grip on it. 

Suspects arrested

Dig deeper:

In response to surveillance video, court filings said police swept an apartment building on 61st Street. They arrested Cumberland outside one of the apartments and Ayala inside that apartment.

The complaint said officers searched Ayala and found a black ski mask. Officers searched the apartment the two had been in and found a black handgun with blood on it wrapped in a shirt in a dresser. It had a red rubber grip and no magazine. A loaded, high-capacity drum magazine was found wrapped in a sweatshirt. A loaded gun was found in a clothing basket in front of the dresser. A second black ski mask was found on the bed. Fake, torn-up money was found in a bathtub. A loaded gun, which also had blood on it, was later found inside a box in a closet.

A warrant was obtained to search Ayala and the 15-year-old victim's cellphones. Court filings said Ayala had texted someone about guns days before the shooting and, after it happened, texted someone: "I was pose to make sure we all ate I f***** up brother." The 15-year-old had texts in which he said "im trying take this guy pipe" with a photo of a handgun with a red grip. He also texted "he got fake money" and "we gon act like we on buy it."

What they're saying:

The complaint said Cumberland gave police varying accounts of what happened, first claiming someone had hit him with a gun and that Ayala "got scared" after the other people pulled weapons. He said Ayala admitted he "popped them" and talked about "stashing stuff" in the apartment.

Cumberland said Ayala gave him a gun with a drum magazine, and they went outside to meet some people, according to the complaint. He said he went to shake hands with the 15-year-old victim when his gun got snatched and it "all goes down." He said Ayala then "looted" everyone and let "a shot off" while there was a fight over the guns. He said "a lot of stuff was planned" and said he wasn't sure what was going on.

Prosecutors said Cumberland ultimately told police that Ayala planned to sell the gun with the drum magazine for $500, but the other people "robbed" them. He said they didn't realize the money Ayala grabbed from the 15-year-old victim was fake until they got back inside.

Cumberland claimed he was attacked inside the SUV, according to the complaint, and told police that Ayala "shot them off him" and that the other people "tried to kill us." He also admitted to hitting the 15-year-old victim with a gun while people outside the SUV tried to "snatch" the weapon from him. He said Ayala shot one person who "had a gun for sure."

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