Milwaukee girl killed, 2nd teen charged in shooting

MILWAUKEE - A second Milwaukee teen is charged as an adult in connection to an October shooting that killed a girl and wounded her mother.

Prosecutors accuse 16-year-old Cornell Henard of first-degree reckless homicide. Benjamin Garrett, 17, was charged in October with first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree reckless injury. 

Milwaukee police responded to the shooting near 37th and Rohr around 6 p.m. on Oct. 10. There, the victims – 12-year-old Olivia Schultz and her mother, Celeste Wilson – were found with gunshot wounds. Schultz later died of her injuries.

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Henard is still in high school. In court for his initial appearance Tuesday, his attorney argued for low bail – but the commissioner set it at $100,000 due to the seriousness of the charges.

"He’s only 16 years old. He lives with his parents. He has a good relationship with his parents," said Attorney Michael Cerniglia.

"The defendant acknowledged taking part in this shooting in which there are two victims, one deceased, a 12-year-old victim," said Tyler James Rubenzer, the assistant district attorney.

Henard's attorney pointed out in court Tuesday that the complaint does not answer a few questions, such as which teen's weapon killed Schultz or how police zeroed in on Henard. The teen is due back in court on Jan. 4.

Benjamin Garrett; Cornell Henard

Shooting details

A criminal complaint states Wilson told police what happened before the shooting. She'd returned home from grocery shopping and saw "two young males" walking in the alley apparently "looking for something."

Wilson told police, per the complaint, that both young males had masks on. One of the young males pulled his mask down, walked past her car and pulled out a gun. She told him "he did not need to do anything with the gun, that it's not worth it." Wilson's husband and kids – including Schultz – came out to help with the groceries, and the young males walked away.

The complaint states the two young males were "about four houses away," according to Wilson, when the armed young male began to shoot at her and her family. She was shot as she took cover, and saw that her daughter had also been shot.

12-year-old fatally shot near 37th and Rohr

Wilson's husband told police, per the complaint, that he also saw the young males in the alley and saw one of them pull out a gun. He continued helping with the groceries and, when he came outside, began "arguing with the two males" telling them "there was no reason to have a gun out." He told police he saw one of them raise the gun and fire it multiple times before seeing Schultz and Wilson fall to the ground. The young males then ran off.

"I don't understand what made them go down the alley and turn around and start shooting at us. I thought it was safe," Wilson told FOX6 News the day after the shooting."

An investigation identified Henard and Garrett, as the young males in the alley. Prosecutors said Garrett was identified as the alleged shooter from a Facebook photo. When shown a photo array, Wilson identified Garrett as the person who shot her and her daughter.

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During an interview with police, the complaint states Henard initially said he was "not involved in any shooting that happened in an alley." He also said he did not know Garrett by his real name because they "just started hanging out."

Henard told police, per the complaint, that "a guy…went to his house to grab an AR. Then, out of nowhere, dude started shooting. Then we started shooting." Henard initially denied shooting his gun, but later said he fired it two to three times "in the air" behind him as he ran. He also said he "heard a gunshot" before he started shooting but did not know who shot first – "the guy" or Garrett.

An arrest warrant was issued for Garrett on Oct. 21, and he was taken into custody the following week. His cash bond was set at $100,000 and, in November, he pleaded not guilty. He is due back in court on Feb, 9.