A Milwaukee community is grappling with tragedy after a 15-year-old boy used a "ghost gun" to fatally shoot two other teens, Alejandro Sanchez and Monroe Weso, both 15, during a robbery last weekend, authorities said. The accused shooter, identified as Christopher N. Scott, is on the run with a warrant issued for his arrest. He faces two counts of first-degree reckless homicide and armed robbery charges, as per a criminal complaint filed Thursday and reported by jsonline.com.
The fatal incident occurred on the south side of Milwaukee, a city that has seen an alarming rise in youth homicides and firearm injuries since the outset of the pandemic. Ald. Scott Spiker expressed his concern, saying, "It’s really disturbing that youth are having this sort of easy access to guns," in a statement obtained by the jsonline.com. Charges have also been brought against a 13-year-old in connection to the crime, who according to TMJ4 News, remains unnamed due to his juvenile status. The judge presiding over the case has ordered the juvenile to remain in secure detention, citing him as a danger to both himself and others.
Police reports and a criminal complaint revealed that the suspect met with the victims under the pretense of transacting for marijuana, only for it to culminate in robbery and deadly gunfire. The "ghost gun," unserialized and thus untraceable, is said to have been taken by Scott from a cousin in Minnesota. "If they want a gun, they can get a gun," community activist Tracey Dent told jsonline.com, highlighting the pressing issue of weapon accessibility among children.
Following the shooting, which took place just after 10:30 p.m. on May 18, Scott attempted to erase any forensic evidence by dousing himself in bleach, as detailed in the complaint cited by CBS58. This detail emerged from an interview with the detained 13-year-old, who claimed he had witnessed Scott shoot both Weso and Sanchez. In a disturbing twist, surveillance video captured the shooting and Scott's own mother identified him in the footage. Meanwhile, the broken-hearted families of Sanchez and Weso remember their lost sons as best friends who were outgoing, friendly, and creative. They have established GoFundMe pages to pay for their memorial services.
