Teen Charged In Tosa Mall Shooting To Contest Move To Adult Court

WAUWATOSA, WI— The 15-year-old teen arrested in connection with the Nov. 20 shooting at Mayfair Mall that left eight people injured, appeared in a virtual court hearing on Thursday. Patch is not naming the 15-year-old as he hasn't been charged as an adult.

In a petition for juvenile delinquency, the teen faces eight felony charges of first-degree reckless injury, use of a dangerous weapon and misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.

Attorneys for the teen plan to contest prosecutors’ attempts to move his case to adult court. An in-person hearing will be held on Feb. 16 on the matter, according to an Associated Press report.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Judge Brittany Grayson said she will hold another hearing in January regarding the defense request for more police reports.

Assistant District Attorney Gilbert Urfer argued that such discovery information should not be turned over to the defense yet because the contested waiver to adult court would be come “a full-blown investigation and mini-trial on the merits of the case,” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

The Nov. 20 shooting

According to the petition documents, a witness was shopping at Mayfair Mall on Nov. 20 when they noticed four people walking through the mall. The group stood out because there were three males and one female, who was wearing a distinctively colored outfit, the documents said. The witness said said when the group was coming down on an escalator from the upper level, the witness heard a male "screaming" as he approached the group, the documents said.

The male was later identified through video footage and was standing with another male (later identified as the 15-year-old), the documents said. The witness noticed the same two males walking through the mall earlier and said the pair appeared to be "walking through the mall with purpose and appeared to be looking for someone," the documents said.
The witness noticed as the other male was advancing toward the group, the 15-year-old reached for his waistband and the witness noticed the handle of a handgun, the documents said.

After the other male punched the leading member of the group on the escalator, the 15-year-old drew his handgun and pointed it the ground, the documents said.
The remaining escalator group began to move towards the other male, the documents said. At this point, the 15-year-old began firing and the person who the other male had punched fell to the ground, the documents said.

The witness said the escalator group attempted to run away as the shooter continued to shoot at them, the documents said.

After the shooting, the teen and the other male— who was struck by the gunfire — stopped in the Enzo store before fleeing the mall, the documents said.

Surveillance footage from the Best Buy on Mayfair Road showed the 15-year-old running from the mall as police arrived, the documents said. Police were able to determine the teen left in an Uber, which had been called by a number "associated with" the teen's dad, the documents said.
The Uber dropped the teen at home and he was arrested on Sunday in a car with Illinois plates, the documents said. The teen had a packed bag and the same 9mm handgun used in the shooting, the documents said.

The teen was arrested after a traffic stop was conducted in the City of Milwaukee. The "suspected weapon" was recovered in car and is currently being processed, according to Sgt. Abby Pavlik, Public Information Officer, Wauwatosa Police Department.

Two additional arrests were made in connection with the shooting at Mayfair Mall.

Pavlik said three total arrests were made in connection to the shooting: the suspected shooter, another individual believed to be involved in the incident, and a passenger in the car at the time of suspected shooter's arrest.

Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber said police responded to the mall around 2:50 p.m. after receiving multiple 911 calls about a shooting near the northwestern entrance. Officers were on scene, providing medical aid to victims within 30 seconds of notification, Weber said.

Unaware that the shooter had left the mall, a perimeter was established and tactical teams formed to begin clearing the mall of patrons sheltering in place as well as searching for the suspect. The process to completely secure the mall, which contains 1.265 million square feet, took six hours and involved seven tactical teams, according to a police news release.

Live footage from the scene showed a heavy police presence and multiple people being taken out on stretchers.

Gun-sniffing dogs will be patrolling Mayfair Mall to find weapons, the mall announced on Wednesday.

The launch of the Vapor Wake Public Safety Canine Detection Program (VWK9) was announced in a news release. Specially trained canines will patrol the shopping center to detect firearms alongside security officers, according to the release.

Reporting and writing from The Associated Press was used in this story.