Milwaukee Aurora Sinai hospital shooting, man pronounced dead

Christopher Robinson Jr.

The man critically injured in a shooting at Milwaukee's Aurora Sinai Medical Center on Monday has now died.

Christopher Robinson was taken off life support and pronounced dead on Saturday, according to a statement from attorney B'Ivory LaMarr on behalf of Robinson's family. He was 40 years old and leaves behind five children.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

Hospital shooting

The backstory:

Two people were shot at the hospital, near 12th and State, on March 2. Investigators said one victim, Robinson, was initially treated for life-threatening injuries at Aurora Sinai before being moved to another hospital. 

FOX6 News initially reported that Robinson died as a result of the shooting, citing information from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office that he had been brought in for an autopsy. However, the medical examiner's office later corrected its report on Thursday.

Shooting at Aurora Sinai Medical Center

LaMarr said Robinson was shot in the head while inside the hospital's emergency department waiting area. Court filings said the second victim, identified as a 38-year-old, suffered a graze wound.

Aurora Health Care provided a statement that said its internal review found that the metal detector was working as intended, but a handheld wand screening "was not conducted appropriately." The people responsible are no longer with the health care organization.

Family tries to recover

What they're saying:

LaMarr said Robinson's family is beyond distraught as they try to recover from a tragedy that should have never happened. They are focused on Robinson's mother, who was with him at the time.

"His mother, who gave birth to him, raised him, had to sit there and watch his life being taken away right before her eyes," he said. "She's not able to eat, sleep."

The attorney said their next step will be looking for a resolution from Aurora Health Care and, in the end, they want to make sure what happened to Robinson does not happen to anyone else.

"You can't just brush this off. This is a real life that has been lost because of negligence," he said.

LaMarr also said the family is going through the process of donating Robinson's organs.

Man charged

Dig deeper:

Prosecutors charged 38-year-old Ronnell Shaw with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, among other crimes, on Friday. According to a criminal complaint, the state "reserves the right to increase" the attempted homicide count to intentional homicide "after any autopsy may occur."

Investigators recovered security video from the hospital. Court filings said the video showed Robinson at the front desk area, appearing as though he was checking in or talking to staff. The video then showed Shaw round the corner in a wheelchair and roll up behind Robinson. Shaw then reached up with a gun in his right hand and pointed it "directly at the back of (Robinson)." 

Aurora Sinai Medical Center shooting, Milwaukee man charged

A Milwaukee man is accused of shooting Christopher Robinson Jr. and one other person inside the lobby at Aurora Sinai Medical Center on Monday.

Prosecutors said Shaw fired shots, turned and appeared to fire one more time – striking another person. That person suffered a graze round. As hospital staff scattered, Shaw rolled away and "eventually abandons the wheelchair and hops away."

Detectives interviewed Shaw, who said a friend had dropped him off at the hospital. Court filings said he told police that he didn't go all the way into the hospital at first because he "knew he had to disarm himself." He said he "put the gun in a cup and then into the garage" before he went inside.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

Shaw also said, according to the complaint, that he saw several people coming in and out of the hospital who "appeared suspicious." He said he watched Robinson "put a bag around the metal detector," so he went and got his gun out of the garbage and rolled through the metal detectors in the wheelchair. 

While Shaw believed Robinson had a gun, court filings said he admitted that Robinson "never threatened him, and never spoke to him." However, he did believe Robinson was talking about him and claimed "foreigners in the hospital were talking about stabbing him." He then said: "I shot him. I don't know his name."

Editor's note: This story was updated to add information from an interview with LaMarr.

The Source: FOX6 News referenced information from the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office, Wisconsin Circuit Court, and attorney LaMarr.

Crime and Public SafetyNewsMilwaukee