What was supposed to be a youth flag-football game on Milwaukee's South Side has ended with a homicide conviction and a community still on edge. A Milwaukee County jury on Friday found Gavino Avalos-Morales guilty of killing 47-year-old Raysean Barnes during a game at Milwaukee Public Schools' South Stadium. Jurors convicted Avalos-Morales of second-degree reckless homicide and also found him guilty of discharging a firearm in a school zone and possessing a gun on school grounds. Sentencing is scheduled for May 2026. The October 2024 shooting sent families and players running and has remained a sore point in the neighborhood.
Prosecutors had initially charged Avalos-Morales with first-degree reckless homicide, but the jury opted for the lesser second-degree count, according to FOX6 News Milwaukee. The station reports that jurors also returned guilty verdicts on the firearm counts and that court records list a sentencing hearing in May.
What prosecutors say the video shows
According to court documents and surveillance footage described by local outlets, the shooting unfolded on Oct. 12, 2024, at the MPS South Stadium near South 11th Street and West Windlake Avenue. Video allegedly shows two men run past Barnes and spark a scuffle with Avalos-Morales and another man. Prosecutors say Avalos-Morales then pulled a gun, pointed it at Barnes, who appears to have his hands raised, and fired once, killing him.
Investigators later recovered 9mm casings at the stadium and matched them to casings found in an alley near South 10th Street and West Orchard Street, suggesting the same firearm was used in a related incident the same day, according to WTMJ.
Schools and neighbors react
Milwaukee Public Schools has said it is cooperating with investigators and has stressed its focus on safety at district athletic events. District officials told reporters that the incident prompted changes to screening procedures at youth games.
Neighbors and people who were at the stadium described chaos as parents and children scrambled away from the field, and family members publicly called for accountability in the wake of the shooting, according to reporting by WISN 12 News.
Legal next steps
Court records show Avalos-Morales is scheduled to be sentenced in May. Prosecutors had pursued a first-degree reckless homicide conviction, but jurors returned a verdict on the lesser second-degree charge. Second-degree reckless homicide is a Class D felony under Wisconsin law, and sentencing is governed by the state's bifurcated system. The statutory maximum term of confinement for a Class D felony can reach 15 years, according to the Wisconsin State Law Library and state sentencing statutes § 973.01.
The case is listed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court under case number 2024CF004973, and early proceedings included a $250,000 bond. The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and the court are set to handle the May sentencing hearing and any pre-sentencing motions, according to WTMJ.
