A 15-year-old Milwaukee boy is facing a first-degree intentional homicide charge after prosecutors say he shot a 16-year-old classmate six times near Layton Boulevard and Greenfield Avenue on September 19, after both teens exited through the rear doors of a city bus. Cameron Bowen died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds, and the suspect, identified as Robbiel L. Stokes, had not yet been arrested as of the charge announcement despite an active warrant.
According to WISN, prosecutors charged Stokes Friday, alleging he shot Bowen near the Milwaukee County Transit System stop after the two exited a bus together. The criminal complaint says Bowen boarded the bus first, with Stokes following him on, and the pair ended up sitting near each other in the rear before a heated conversation broke out between them.
Witness accounts cited in the complaint say Stokes pulled a handgun from his sweatshirt pocket and opened fire once they were outside the bus, with witnesses telling investigators the shooter chased Bowen in front of the vehicle before Bowen collapsed in the street.
A Video Call Captured the Argument
A friend of Bowen's was on a video call with him just before the gunfire began, according to the station's report, and told investigators they heard arguing in the background moments before shots rang out. That detail, laid out in the complaint, offers one of the only real-time accounts of what unfolded in the tense minutes before the shooting.
The conflict, per the same account, stemmed from a fight at Bay View High School three days earlier, on September 16. Bowen had reportedly been suspended after confronting another student over a stolen item, and school officials identified Stokes as the student involved in that earlier altercation.
Casing From Mother's Car Ties Suspect to Scene
Investigators say Stokes called his mother shortly after the shooting and asked her for a ride. When she arrived to pick him up, the complaint states he was soaking wet and appeared nervous. Authorities later searched his mother's vehicle and recovered a .40-caliber casing, which the report notes matched the brand and caliber of casings found at the crime scene.
Stokes faces a first-degree intentional homicide charge. A casing was recovered from his mother's vehicle, and witnesses described the shooting. Authorities issued an arrest warrant for him, but the station's report indicates he remained at large as of the charging announcement.
A Pattern of Youth Violence Near Milwaukee Schools
The shooting adds to a string of violent incidents involving young people in Milwaukee in recent years. In February 2022, five people were shot and wounded outside a Milwaukee high school following a dispute that started over a social media post, according to FOX 11 Online, citing the Associated Press. And Urban Milwaukee reported police were seeking a suspect in a fatal shooting of a teenager on West Silver Spring Drive.
The case against Stokes centers on the specific chain of events described in the complaint: a school fight, a tense bus ride, and a shooting that left a 16-year-old dead in the street.
