Milwaukee officers shot, Tremaine Jones trial: Live updates April 1

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Police Officer Christopher McCray testified Wednesday in the trial of Tremaine Jones, the man accused of wounding him and killing Officer Kendall Corder in a shooting last summer. 

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Live updates | April 1, 2026

Court breaks

3:38 p.m.:

The state informed the court that all available witnesses had been called for the day, and Judge Michelle Havas read instructions and dismissed the jurors. Court is scheduled to resume at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 2. 

PHOTO GALLERY: Pool images from April 1, 2026

Surveillance captures shooting

2:55 p.m.:

MPD Det. Matthew Truman took the stand. He was assigned to the gun violence division at the time of the shooting and previously worked in electronic evidence. 

Truman said that detectives recovered video from home surveillance cameras on 24th Place, north of the alley where the officers shot. Truman walked the jury through the videos in court, testifying to the timeline of events and the people seen in the footage across multiple clips. He noted that the time stamps on the video from one of the cameras were out-of-sync with the actual time.

At one point, video showed Corder and McCray walking and flashing handheld lights on 24th Place. There was no audio, but as the officers entered the alley from 24th Place, Corder suddenly dropped to the ground and McCray ran for cover.

On cross-examination, Truman testified that detectives did not find video while canvassing the area that showed anyone fleeing the shooting scene.

Corder's bodycam video

2:14 p.m.:

Ryan Casey, an MPD homicide detective, testified that he reviewed Corder's body-worn camera footage as part of the investigation. The state played footage from the night of the shooting for the jury.

The footage showed Corder holding a rifle as he and McCray responded to the area of 25th and Garfield, where they'd been called about a subject with a weapon. It showed them walking toward 24th Place and an alley, where the officers were ultimately shot.

In the video, Corder was heard saying he thought someone was in the bushes. A series of gunshots rang out, and the camera pointed toward the sky as Corder dropped to the ground. McCray could be heard yelling in the background. Casey testified that at no time did the video show muzzle flashes or the person who was shooting.

The defense had no questions.

Bullets collected at hospital

2:14 p.m.:

The state called MPD Homicide Det. Justin Sokolowski to the stand. He was sent to the hospital after the shooting to collect evidence that may be relevant to the investigation.

Sokolowski testified that bullets, removed from Corder and McCray's bodies, were among the items of evidence he collected at the hospital.

The defense had no questions. 

Bullet fragment in tactical vest

2:03 p.m.:

MPD Homicide Det. Brian Maciejewski testified. He was tasked with documenting McCray's equipment as part of the investigation into Corder's death.

Maciejewski testified about bullet strikes to McCray's tactical vest, and the prosecution showed the vest to the jury. He said they found a spent bullet fragment in the layers of Kevlar. 

The defense had no questions.

Wounded officer Christopher McCray

1:20 p.m.:

The court returned from its lunch break and heard testimony from McCray himself. He testified that he was working with Corder, who was filling in for another officer, on the night of the shooting. They had worked together before and were both assigned to District 2, which covers a portion of the city's south side.

McCray said they were called to respond to "shots fired" near 25th and Garfield, which is in District 3. He testified that they were sent outside their district because there were no District 3 officers available to respond to the "priority" call at that time.

Corder was the driver of their squad. McCray testified that they pulled up with their lights off, because when responding to a person with a gun, officers do not want to draw attention to themselves. He said he got out with a handgun, and Corder got out with a rifle. They did not see anyone at first, but some people outside directed them to the east.

The state played footage from McCray's body-worn camera in court. He testified that they were looking for a subject when he heard a voice say something about a shooting, and they went to investigate. It was dark, and they could not see where the voices might have come from, but they walked in that direction.

McCray testified that they'd just started to enter an alley off 24th Place when he heard gunshots and saw muzzle flashes come from the bushes. He disengaged after hearing the gunshots – reporting "shots fired" and "my partner's hit."

The bodycam footage showed McCray returning to his partner, who had dropped to the ground, while repeatedly crying out "Corder" and "no." He then picked up Corder's rifle and ordered whoever was in the area to stay away while repeatedly calling for support. He said a person in a white shirt approached him, be was not sure if that person was there to help or harm.

"Shots fired, shots fired! My partner's down!" McCray is heard yelling in the video. "We need squads here ASAP, we need ASAP!"

McCray had been shot in the foot, leg and back. He stayed with Corder, pleading for him to come to, but Corder did not have a pulse and was not breathing. Eventually, other officers arrived to to help.

In court, McCray was in tears after the video was played. Some jurors were seen wiping their eyes.

The defense had no questions.

Fight over cheating allegations

11:05 a.m.:

Je'Neera Jones, whose apartment near 25th and Garfield was searched as part of the investigation, said she was dating and living with Tremaine Jones in June 2025. 

She testified that she asked Tremaine Jones to leave because she believed he was cheating on her. She said she got into a fight with the other woman on the night before the officers were shot. On the night of the shooting, the woman and a group of people showed up again and a second fight ensued. She said Bryshawn Tyler, who is charged in connection to the case, came over "so I don't get jumped on." 

Je'Neera Jones testified that Tyler pulled out a gun during the altercation, then someone called Tremaine Jones. She said Jones had a gun and threatened to "shoot up" her house because Tyler was there. In a 911 call, she described Tremaine Jones' appearance that night and was on the phone when shots rang out. She said the shots came from outside her apartment, and while she did not see who fired them, only saw Tremaine Jones with a gun outside. She ran to a bedroom and did not know or see if Tyler returned fire. She also did not see or hear the gunshots later that struck the officers. 

On cross-examination, Je'Neera Jones went into more detail about what led to the first fight. Defense Attorney Abigail Ruckdashel pressed her on details of a police report.

Apartment searched

10:19 a.m.:

The state called MPD Det. Thomas Klahorst. He was assigned to the violent crime division and was tasked with searching an apartment near 25th and Garfield as part of the shooting investigation.

Klahorst testified that they found a for a rifle, as well as four 40-caliber bullet casings, in that apartment. The state showed a rifle that was found at the scene of the shooting, and the detective testified that the rifle did not have a bump stock. The detective also said some of the casings were found on a window sill.

Also inside the apartment, Klahorst testified that they found a backpack with two 40-caliber handguns inside. The backpack was underneath clothing in a hamper. 

On cross-examination, Klahorst provided more detail about the 40-caliber handguns and bullet casings. He said it is suspected that Bryshawn Tyler, who is charged in connection to the case, fired those shots in response to other shots that had been fired in the street. He testified that he did not know where Tyler went after the shots were fired. 

Photo array

10:07 a.m.:

MPD Homicide Det. Ndiva Malafa took the stand. He was involved in the shooting investigation and conducted a photo array with a witness, who testified earlier, in an attempt to identify a suspect. 

Malafa testified in detail about how a photo array is compiled. He said the witness said "this is him" when he came across Jones' photo in the lineup, adding the witness told him he was "certain" it was the person he saw with a gun near 25th and Garfield on the night of the shooting.

On cross-examination, Malafa confirmed the witness saw and subsequently identified Jones from the photo array as the person involved in an incident at 25th and Garfield – not the shooting of the officers that happened nearby minutes later.

Man identifies Jones in court

9:10 a.m.:

After a break, court resumed with testimony from James Johnson. He said he lived near 25th and Garfield, where the shooting happened, on the night that it happened.

"I saw this guy with a backpack and rifle, shouting, asking someone to come out," he said. 

In court, Johnson stood up and pointed to Jones – identifying him as the person he saw with the gun and noting that some aspects of his appearance, such as his hair, are now different than they were at the time. He also previously identified Jones from a photo lineup.

The witness said he saw the armed individual fire shots into the air, and he called 911. He later heard shots coming from the alley but did not see what happened. He then saw a person run and jump a fence, but he could not tell who it was.

On cross-examination, Johnson clarified that he was not certain what time things happened. He confirmed that he identified Jones as the person who had the gun in the street and that he did not see what happened when the officers were shot.

Woman's videos played

9:10 a.m.:

Marquisha Johnson took the stand. She was living near 25th and Garfield, where the officers were shot, and testified that her children woke her up because they saw someone outside with a gun and were scared that night. She called 911.

"I just got my kids to the floor because I saw what was going on. I didn't know what was going to happen, so I just made sure they were on the floor just in case," she said. "Within probably…I don't know, mabybe…five minutes or so after the call, I did hear a number of shots."

Johnson said she heard an argument outside and, at some point, heard a gunshot. The state played videos that she took, which showed the altercation in the street and the person with the gun, for the jury.

The defense had no questions.

911 caller testifies

8:53 a.m.:

The state's first witness Wednesday was a woman who lives near 25th and Garfield. She testified that she heard arguing among girls or young women in the street on back-to-back days that went on for a "long time." She called 911on the second day because, while the argument was going on, she saw someone walking down the street with a "big gun" via her doorbell camera.

The witness testified that she called 911 again after the person with the gun started shooting. She continued to watch what was happening through her doorbell camera, describing it as "pretty scary." The group eventually scattered.

On cross-examination, the witness testified that she called police three times before anyone arrived. She also said she did not see a shooting that involved officers, and no such shooting was captured on her doorbell camera. 

The shooting

The backstory:

Milwaukee Police Officers Kendall Corder and Christopher McCray were shot near 25th and Garfield on the night of June 26, 2025. They were initially called for a report of a person with a weapon, which was upgraded to shots fired while they were on the way.

When they arrived and stepped out of their squad, they were unexpectedly shot in an alley. Assistant Police Chief Nicole Waldner noted the officers were unable to return fire. Milwaukee Police Association President Alexander Ayala described it as "an ambush."

Corder dropped to the ground, and McCray – who had been shot in the foot, leg and back – ran to grab Corder's firearm and protect him, according to a criminal complaint. Backup officers and a tactical team arrived shortly after the shooting.

The two officers were taken to Froedtert Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center. McCray was released from the hospital days later, while Corder died of his wounds on June 29. Court filings said Corder suffered three gunshot wounds, one of which severed his spine.

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Dig deeper:

Prosecutors said there were fights between groups of women over Jones and allegations of cheating. While at an apartment building before officers arrived, Jones fired shots into the air. The officers arrived a short time later.

McCray said he and Corder were walking down an alley when he saw a flash coming from some bushes and heard a bang that "sounded like a firework," according to the complaint. More flashes and bangs, which were gunshots, followed. 

Court filings said police recovered 16 total rifle cartridge casings at the scene "consistent with the shots being fired from the bushes" as McCray described. They later recovered a rifle along a fence line that the Milwaukee Police Department Fusion Center later determined was "consistent" with being the gun that fired all 16 rounds. Forensic investigators pulled a latent fingerprint, identified as Jones', from the weapon.

The complaint said police also found a social security card, birth certificate and several debit cards with Jones' name on them inside a backpack in a nearby backyard. There was a receipt from a West Allis gun shop that showed Jones bought a gun on June 17 and picked it up on June 19.

Jones was arrested the morning after the shooting at a home near 37th and Villard. A witness said Jones did not know he was shooting at the police and "thought it was someone else," according to court filings. The witness said Jones also said he had "better get out of there" because he had "just killed a cop."

Complete coverage

Dig deeper:

FOX6 News has followed the case from the time of the shooting to the trial. Read and watch more coverage below at the links below:

• March 31: Officers, detectives testimony covers scene response, evidence
• Tremaine Jones trial: Jury selection begins for man accused of shooting Milwaukee police officers
• Milwaukee Police Officer Kendall Corder laid to rest, loved ones say goodbye
• Milwaukee police officers shot, Tremaine Jones charged
• Remembering Milwaukee police officers who died in the line of duty

LIVESTREAM: Full coverage from April 1, 2026

WARNING: The livestream may include strong language and disturbing images. Discretion is advised.

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