Police Say Man Who Shot 9-Year-Old Boy Has Been Charged

MILWAUKEE, WI — A suspect has been arrested and charged after police say he shot and killed 6-year-old Justin Evans on Milwaukee's north side. Authorities say Evans was shot through his heart and right lung, and later died at the hospital.

Robert M. Anderson, 34, Milwaukee, has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon. If convicted, he could face up to 45 years behind bars.

The Night of the Shooting

According to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County, on the night of July 22, police responded to the 3600 block of N. 23rd St. on a report that 6-year-old Justin Evans had been shot. When police arrived, a police detective located a toy fire truck and an overturned children's bicycle in the front yard of a nearby home. On the wooden stairs leading up to the porch of that home were fishing poles. On the landing, the detective saw a blood trail that lead from the landing up to the front door.

According to a Journal Sentinel report, Evans was about to leave on a fishing trip with his stepfather and was running up the stairs toward the house to say goodbye to his mother when gunfire from the street struck him. Evans was taken to the hospital where he later died from his injuries.

The Investigation

According to the criminal complaint, an eyewitness reported seeing Anderson standing in the middle of the street near the intersection of N. 23rd St. and Finn St., on the night of the shooting, yelling for a person to "get off [his] block."

The eyewitness told police that he looked away for a moment and then heard several gunshots coming from the street. He looked up to see Anderson running north while discharging a firearm multiple times, according to the criminal complaint.

When police responded to the scene that night, investigators said there had been a vehicle containing multiple occupants that had been doing "donuts" in the intersection of N. 23rd St. and Finn St. and that Anderson may have been shooting at the vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.

According to police, that vehicle was later recovered, and investigators found multiple bullet strikes to the vehicle.

Police reported finding 14 9mm shell casings near the residence where Evans was shot. All casings were sent to the Milwaukee Police Department's Intelligence Fusion Center for analysis. Their conclusion was that all 14 casings belonged to the same firearm and matched that of Anderson's.

A Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's autopsy of Evans determined that the 6-year-old boy had an entrance gunshot wound to the chest, which traveled through the heart and right lung before exiting on the right side of his back, according to the criminal complaint.

Prior Convictions

According to court records, Anderson was convicted of possession with intent to deliver cocaine in December 2008 and has been in and out of prison on multiple revocations of his extended supervision privileges. He was discharged from his sentence in July 2016.

Anderson is being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on greater than $250,000 bond. His next court appearance is Oct. 31.

"He should not have got a bail period. How are you going to give a murderer bail? Look how long it took police officers to catch this man. He didn't turn himself in. If he turned himself in, yeah he could of got a bail. He didn't, he had to get caught for killing an innocent child," said Cindy Kloss, Evans' grandmother in a CBS 58 report.

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