13-Year-Old Killed In Shooting; Milwaukee Man Faces Homicide Charge

MILWAUKEE, WI — After gunshots burst into a Milwaukee family's home in February, killing a 13-year-old, a man has been charged with homicide as a party to a crime, police announced Monday.

Prosecutors filed charges on Friday against 18-year-old Lazarus McAdoo in connection with the fatal February shooting, according to police and online court records. He was charged with one count of first-degree reckless homicide as a party to a crime and faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted.

The 13-year-old had just been called over by his mother to grab a plate of dinner before bullets struck the house, according to a criminal complaint distributed by police. After the teen fell, his mother ran out the front door and saw a driver get out of a car near 47th and Fiebrantz Streets and make a comment like "that's what that was!" before leaving, the complaint said.

Police said they discovered nine bullet strikes to the home and found 15 6.8mm casings, a relatively rare rifle caliber, alongside seven casings from a 9mm gun.

The mother told police she had problems with some members of another family, and a woman from the conflicting group threatened to shoot up her house, according to the complaint. Behind those problems, the complaint said, was that the mother "had dated a man who had been in a relationship with the woman from the other group."

The mother later identified McAdoo from a lineup as the driver, police said.

Police also noted another shooting reported that night at a home associated with the man at the heart of the two family's conflict, the complaint said. Police said they found the same caliber bullet casings between both scenes.

Eventually, police identified the defendant's father as the Chrysler Sebring's owner, the complaint said. By March, detectives located the defendant, who denied taking part in the shooting but admitted to being present at the time, according to the complaint.

The defendant told police he was there because he heard about plans at a family get-together to shoot someone inside that home, so he followed, the complaint said. A search of the defendant's phone placed it in the same location as both shootings that night, police said.