Milwaukee fatal apartment shooting, man charged with homicide
Terry Jefferson
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man has been charged with 1st-degree intentional homicide after prosecutors say he shot and killed a man in an apartment building.
The shooting happened near 27th and Highland on Feb. 26, 2025.
33-year-old Terry Jefferson is accused of shooting the victim, Charles Williams, several times, ultimately killing him. Jefferson said Williams was helping him move into the apartment at the time.
The 1st-degree intentional homicide charge, with use of a dangerous weapon modifier, carries a life prison sentence if convicted.
Incident details
What we know:
According to the criminal complaint, just before 5 p.m. on Feb 26, Milwaukee police officers were already at the apartment near 27th and Highland looking for a wanted person when an officer heard a loud bang. Initially, the officer thought it was possibly a door slamming. But after a couple of minutes, the officer heard a rapid succession of gunfire coming from somewhere in the apartment.
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Officers found that on the second floor two people were in the hallway. One of those people, later identified as Charles Williams, was lying on the floor next to a puddle of blood. The other person, later identified as the defendant, Terry Jefferson, was standing within feet of Williams, holding a handgun in his right hand. Officers ordered Jefferson to drop his weapon, which he died. He was taken into custody, per the complaint.
Officers rendered aid to Williams, who was then taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy on Williams' body determined that the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, per the complaint.
Interview with witness #1
What they're saying:
The complaint goes on to say that detectives spoke to one witness who was in an apartment adjacent to the hallway where the shooting took place. The witness said they heard a single gunshot, and then looked in the hallway and saw a person who he knew was in the process of moving into the building (Jefferson), and another person (Williams) on the ground who had been shot. The witness said Jefferson was holding a black semi-automatic handgun in his right hand. The witness did not know whether the two people knew each other.
Jefferson told the witness that Williams "shot himself," and then Jefferson said "he tried to grab my gun." The witness saw blood all over the floor. Jefferson told the witness to "call the paramedics." The witness called 911 and then Jefferson took the phone. Williams appeared to be mad that he had been shot and tried to get up. The witness returned to their apartment because they did not know what to do, and then heard 6-7 more gunshots go off in quick succession. The witness did not see either shooting (he did not witness the first shot nor did he witness the rapid succession of shots a few minutes later), per the complaint.
Ring video
What we know:
The complaint goes on to say that the witness sent a clip from a Ring camera that captured some of the incident immediately after the first gunshot. The 22-second clip shows Jefferson standing over Williams. The clip is consistent with the events that the witness described that happened just before the rapid succession of gunshots when the witness went back into their apartment. It should be noted that in this 22-second clip, Williams is on the ground and not moving (bold emphasis in the criminal complaint).
Interview with witness #2
What they're saying:
The complaint further states that detectives spoke to another witness who was on the floor when the shooting happened. The witness said they were inside their apartment and heard a gunshot and looked out of the apartment. They saw a person (Williams) shot on the ground by the elevator. Williams was on his knees with his head down and was reaching for a "buggie" (which the witness later clarified was a shopping cart that had some items in it).
The witness said Jefferson was telling Williams to stay down and was "racking the slide" of a gun. Jefferson then shot numerous additional times and then returned to their apartment.
The witness did not see Williams with any weapon, and described that the shooter (Jefferson) and Williams were only a couple of feet from each other. The witness felt like Jefferson and Williams knew each other, per the complaint.
Scene investigation
What we know:
The complaint goes on to say that the shooting happened in the second floor hallway in front of an elevator. There was a large amount of blood on the carpet where Williams had been lying on the ground. A black Taurus .45 caliber handgun was on the floor where officers arrested Jefferson. Eight .45 caliber spent casings were recovered in the area where the shooting took place.
Interview with Terry Jefferson
What they're saying:
The complaint goes on to say that detectives conducted a mirandized interview of Terry Jefferson.
Jefferson said he was moving into his apartment and had his firearm in the pocket of his red hooded sweatshirt. He indicated Williams was helping him move and also knew that he (Jefferson) had a gun on him. Jefferson said that he and Williams unloaded his car. Jefferson took the elevator and when the elevator door opened, Williams was there very close to him and started "grabbing for stuff." Jefferson explained that he believed Williams was reaching for his firearm and then Jefferson grabbed the firearm and fired a shot at Williams.
Jefferson believed the first shot struck Williams in the face. Jefferson indicated he knew he had hit Williams because he could see that Williams had started bleeding. He then told Williams to lay down. Shortly after that, the first witness came into the hall and Jefferson told that person to call 911. Jefferson said he was on the phone with 911 and was struggling to hear the dispatcher, per the complaint.
Jefferson said that after the first shot, his gun jammed, so he cleared the malfunction. He also said he told Williams to "chill out." He acknowledged he never saw Williams with a gun or other weapon. Jefferson explained that during the second round of gunshots, Williams was coming towards him and reaching for him, which caused Jefferson to shoot all the rounds in the firearm, per the complaint.
The complaint goes on to say that Jefferson demonstrated to detectives that Williams was 1-2 feet away during the first shot, then for the second shot, Williams was not close enough to reach out and touch Jefferson, but that Williams was in Jefferson's personal space. Jefferson indicated that once he started shooting a second time, Williams started to back up while still facing him, then went down.
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Court proceedings
What's next:
Terry Jefferson had his initial appearance in court on Sunday, March 2. Cash bond was set at $200,000.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 11.
The Source: The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office sent FOX6 the criminal complaint. Court information is publicly available on the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website.