An 11-year-old Milwaukee boy is dead after shooting himself in the head while under the care of a man now facing felony charges, and his mother is speaking out as police search for that man. Samare' Heard died on North 60th Street after the shooting, and his mother has publicly asked the man who was watching him, Christopher Taper, to turn himself in.
Milwaukee County prosecutors formally charged the 44-year-old Taper on August 21 with child neglect resulting in death, possession of a firearm by a felon, and two counts of bail jumping, according to CBS 58. Taper fled the scene and is now the subject of an active arrest warrant, the outlet reports. Milwaukee police have said they are searching for him, according to FOX6 News Milwaukee, which spoke with Samare's mother after his death.
A Delayed 911 Call and a Frantic Night
Court records cited by the same outlet lay out a chaotic timeline from the night of August 17. Samare's mother was driving to her job in West Bend when she got a call from Taper about the shooting. Rather than call 911 himself, Taper left the home, and the mother instead contacted her sister, who rushed to the house, found no emergency vehicles there, and placed a 911 call at 9:40 p.m.
Milwaukee Police officers arrived at the home four minutes later, at 9:44 p.m., and began CPR, but Samare' was pronounced dead at 9:52 p.m. from a single gunshot wound to the forehead, per the outlet's report. The boy's aunt reportedly waited outside until officers arrived to secure the residence.
Remembered as ‘Big ‘Mare’
Samare' had turned 11 just ten days before he died, celebrating his birthday on August 7. His mother, Jamie Campbell, remembered him as a mature boy nicknamed “Big ‘Mare” who won a school spelling bee in 2025 and routinely helped around the house with chores like laundry and pumping gas, the station's report notes. Campbell has publicly asked Taper to turn himself in, according to FOX6.
A Felon Barred From Owning a Gun
Court records show Taper was convicted of armed robbery in 2008 and served three years in prison, and he had an open drug case in Racine County dating back to 2023 at the time of the shooting, per the same account. Convicted felons are barred under state law from possessing firearms, which is why prosecutors added that charge alongside the neglect count.
Under Wisconsin Statute § 948.21, child neglect resulting in a child's death is a Class D felony carrying a statutory maximum of up to 25 years in state prison, according to the Wisconsin State Legislature. Separately, state law under Wisconsin Statute § 948.55 makes it a Class A misdemeanor to recklessly leave a loaded firearm within reach of a child under 14 who then discharges it and causes death or injury, unless the weapon was kept in a locked box or fitted with a trigger lock, per the same statute. It remains unknown whether officers have located Taper on the outstanding warrant or where the firearm came from.
A Rising Toll Among Wisconsin Children
Samare's death fits into a grim statewide pattern. Firearms surpassed motor vehicle crashes in 2020 to become the leading cause of death for children ages 0 to 17 in Wisconsin, claiming 130 young lives statewide between 2020 and 2022, a figure representing a 23% increase over the 2015-2018 period, according to a 2024 study published in the Wisconsin Medical Journal. The same study found that Children's Wisconsin, the region's pediatric trauma center, treated more than 140 children for gunshot wounds in 2023, a threefold jump from the 40 to 50 cases typically seen before 2020.
Nationally, roughly 19% of firearm-related deaths among children under 11 stem from unintentional discharges, the journal's research found, underscoring why health experts continue to stress secure firearm storage as a key line of defense for younger children.
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