Milwaukee officers shot, Tremaine Jones trial: Live updates April 2
MILWAUKEE - Testimony will continue Thursday in the trial of Tremaine Jones, the man accused of killing Milwaukee Police Officer Kendall Corder and wounding Officer Christopher McCray in a shooting last summer.
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Live updates | April 2, 2026
Witness to fights
8:52 a.m.:
The state's first witness Thursday testified that he was living near 25th and Garfield when the shooting happened. He did not know Jones by name but identified him based on what he was wearing in court. During his testimony, he later said he identified Jones to police from a photo lineup.
The witness said he was outside and saw an argument and a fight between "girls" in the street the day before the shooting. He also testified that there was another altercation on the night the police were called, June 26, 2025. He said the second altercation "played out how it did the first time," and he took video that day.
The witness testified one of the people in his video had a handgun, but the witness did not know who that person was. Later, he said Jones showed up with a rifle. He said Jones yelled for people to come out of an apartment building and shot into the air a few times. He said someone inside an apartment building later returned fire, and everyone scattered. The witness said he followed because he was "curious."
When shown another video, the witness testified that a person seen with a backpack, ski mask and rifle was Jones. In another video, the witness identified himself in video that showed him following that person in an alley. He testified that Jones "stayed posted" in the alley near some cars and bushes, and the witness walked away.
The witness said he later saw two police officers come to the area. When they got to the alley, "a lot" of shots went off. He said one officer hit the ground, and the other ran but came back "to help his partner." The witness said the shots came from the bushes. The witness also said he approached to see if the officer needed help, and the partner told him to get back.
The witness testified that he went home after that, but saw Jones again later that night. He said Jones mentioned he "thought it was somebody else," and the witness told Jones it was "cops." Jones said he was missing his bag, according to the witness.
On cross-examination, the defense pressed the witness about where he was and what he saw that night – asking why he kept filming instead of going inside, leaving the area or calling police at any point. The witness said he did not know Jones or any of the people involved in the altercation, but had seen them around the apartment building and decided to start following Jones around after shots were fired.
The witness, as cross-examination continued, testified that he was down the alley when police arrived and the shooting took place. Several minutes had passed since he last saw Jones, and he also said he did not see who pulled the trigger. He said, as he was heading home after it happened, he saw Jones cutting through yards and that Jones did not have the backpack or the rifle anymore.
On redirect, the witness confirmed that the last place he saw Jones with the rifle and backpack before the shooting was near the cars and bushes in the alley. He also said he never saw anyone else in that location, never saw anyone else with that backpack and never saw anyone else with that rifle.
The defense re-crossed the witness. He testified that he told Jones he would look around to see if cops were coming, because he said he didn't want anyone to get in trouble. The witness said he never spoke to Jones again because they'd been separated for several minutes by the time the shooting happened.
Wednesday recap:
McCray's testimony highlighted Wednesday's testimony. He became emotional on the stand as the state played video from his body-worn camera on the night of the shooting. The jury later saw video from Corder's bodycam.
Other witnesses included people who called 911 to report a man in the street with a gun before the officers were shot. One of those witnesses stood up and pointed to Jones in court.
A woman who previously dated Jones, as well as several Milwaukee police detectives, also testified.
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."
Scene near 25th and Garfield, Milwaukee
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.
Milwaukee police officers shot, Tremaine Jones charged
A Milwaukee man is now charged in the shooting that killed Officer Kendall Corder and wounded Officer Christopher McCray last Thursday.
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:
- April 1: Officer McCray testifies, bodycam footage played in court
- 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
The Source: FOX6 News is in court for the trial and referenced information from the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, Wisconsin Circuit Court and prior coverage related to the shooting, investigation, funeral and more.