Teen Accused In 2020 Mayfair Mall Shooting Appears In Adult Court

WAUWATOSA, WI — A Milwaukee teen accused of opening fire and injuring eight at Mayfair Mall in 2020 appeared in court this week via video as he now faces charges as an adult, according to online court records.

Xavier Sevilla was 15 at the time of the Nov., 2020, shooting. Now 17, the previously unnamed teen is facing eight charges of felony first-degree reckless injury in connection with the shooting, online records showed. On Thursday, a not guilty plea was entered for Sevilla for two other misdemeanor charges of carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a dangerous weapon while under 18, online records showed.

Cash bond on Thursday was set at $150,000 and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for July 22, online records said. The teen appeared in court virtually from Lincoln Hills.

Attorneys for the team had initially contested a move of the case to adult court, AP reported in 2020. However, in June, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled the boy shall be tried as an adult.

The shooting happened on Nov. 20, 2020. According to initial court petition documents, a witness noticed four people walking through the mall who stood out. As the group was descending an escalator, two males approached the group, one of them "screaming" according to court documents.

As the people approached the group, one of them, who was later identified as the then-15-year-old, reached for his waistband and a witness noticed the handle of a handgun, court documents said.

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

The person holding the handgun eventually opened fire as the escalator group attempted to run away, the witness told authorities according to court documents. That witness had earlier told investigators that the two people had been walking together throughout the mall "with a purpose."

Surveillance footage from a Best Buy store down the road showed the accused teenager running from the mall as police arrived, court documents said. Police said he left in an Uber that night, and two days later he was arrested in a car with Illinois plates with the same handgun he is accused of using in the shooting, court documents said.

SEE ALSO: Mayfair Mall Mass Shooting In Wauwatosa Leaves 8 Injured

The Associated Press contributed to this story.