Milwaukee woman shot boy in water bottle sale dispute: complaint
Boy shot in water bottle dispute: complaint
A Milwaukee woman is accused of shooting a 12-year-old boy because of a dispute over kids selling bottled water before leading police on a chase.
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee woman has a history of criminal convictions going back years, was just released from prison, is prohibited from having a gun, and is waiting to go to trial in another felony case.
Prosecutors said she searched for and shot a 12-year-old boy over a dispute between that boy and her son over street-side turf selling water bottles.
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Woman charged
In court:
Cosetta Burrell, 33, is charged with 22 counts relating to leading police on a high-speed chase – with kids in her vehicle – that followed the shooting of the 12-year-old boy near 60th and Silver Spring.
Cosetta Burrell appears in court on July 22, 2026.
"There's so much stuff going on in this complaint," said Milwaukee County Circuit Court Commissioner Barry Phillips.
"Here you have what started as a dispute between two groups of children for water-bottle-selling-turf," said Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Mallory Davis.
What's next:
A commissioner set Burrell's bond at $100,000. She is due back in court next week.
Shooting and police chase
The backstory:
Prosecutors said Burrell, Burrell’s girlfriend and other children drove around the neighborhood looking for the victim. Court filings said Burrell shot the boy, shot at the boy’s brother and hit a nearby house that had people inside – including a 2-month-old child – on July 17.
Prosecutors said Flock cameras later spotted the suspect vehicle, and when deputies tried to pull it over, Burrell started a nearly six-mile pursuit at speeds upwards of 80 mph with four kids in the vehicle, including her son.
"Ms. Burrell had been out of prison for 11 days, for her child abuse conviction, where the underlying victim (in the child abuse case) is one of the victims in this case," Davis said.
"She understands the severity of the charges and has mentioned she will attend any and all court appearances for this case," said Defense Attorney Isabella Jimenez. "And she just mentioned to me, on (July 17), when she missed her court appearance, she was in custody."
Woman calls herself "hero"
Dig deeper:
Burrell was set to go to trial this past Monday in a felony ID theft case. Court records show she was in custody on the day of the shooting. That day, her attorney appeared in court requesting an adjournment of the trial date because of a family emergency.
It is unclear whose custody Burrell was in, and why she was released. The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said Burrell hasn’t been in its custody since February 2026, and MPD said Burrell wasn’t in their custody until her arrest.
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Once in the jail, prosecutors said Burrell admitted on recorded jail calls to shooting the boy – and called herself a "hero."
"Nobody in the community, nobody in the hood, thinks that somebody that shoots a 12-year-old kid is a hero," said Phillips. "You are not a hero. If you did this, you're a zero."
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Bill Miston and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: FOX6 News was in court for Burrell's initial appearance in the latest case, referred to comments from Phillips, Davis and Jimenez, and reviewed court filings and records.