Milwaukee shooting: 3-year-old seriously hurt, father charged
Scene at 76th and Carmen in Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man is accused of child neglect after a 3-year-old boy was shot and seriously wounded on May 16.
Prosecutors charged 24-year-old Esaius Brooks in the case, and court records show a warrant has been issued for his arrest. The shooting happened near 76th and Carmen, and the child was rushed to a hospital.
According to a criminal complaint, the boy suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and appeared to have burns around the skin. The boy's mother told police the boy was with his father, Brooks, and only learned of the shooting when she reached out to try to arrange to pick the boy up.
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Brooks told the mother, per the complaint, that he was making the boy food when he climbed onto a chair and grabbed another person's gun that was "sitting on top of the air fryer." He then heard the gun go off.
The complaint states another resident of the home said she was in another room, heard a "loud pop" and found the 3-year-old bleeding in the kitchen; the boy was alone, and there was no gun present.
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Two days after the shooting, the boy was able to speak to investigators. The complaint states he said the gun was on "the table." Investigators found a potential bullet strike on the ground near the kitchen table.
In addition to neglecting a child, court records show Brooks is charged with felony bail jumping and misdemeanor bail jumping.