MILWAUKEE – A 16-year-old Milwaukee boy faces multiple charges tied to the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old girl near Wahl Park on Saturday, Aug. 19. The accused faces the following criminal counts: 

• First-degree reckless homicide
• First-degree reckless injury
• First-degree recklessly endangering safety

According to the criminal complaint, a Milwaukee police sergeant heard numerous gunshots when he was patrolling around 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 19. The sergeant indicated “it sounded like there were multiple shooters, including a rifle being fired,” the complaint says. After the first volley of shots, the sergeant heard more, “but it sounded as if the shots were moving.” A few moments later, the sergeant spotted a gray SUV (Dodge Durango) with tinted windows “traveling north at speeds of approximately 110-120 mph,” the complaint says. The sergeant believed the vehicle was involved in the shooting due to the timing of the event.

Officers who arrived on the scene near 49th and Parkway found a 17-year-old girl, later identified by friends as Andrea Sanders, inside a vehicle who had been shot. Despite life-saving measures, the teen was pronounced deceased on the scene from multiple gunshot wounds. A second 17-year-old female victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

A detective on the scene recovered more than a dozen casings from the scene. ShotSpotter audio from the incident was also recovered. The complaint says it was determined “there were 15 impulsive sounds in total for this incident.”

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Officials spoke with a man who was in the same car as the deceased. The man stated he picked up the 17-year-old and three others around 2 a.m. on Aug. 19 — and they went to Wahl Park. While at the park, this person spotted a gray SUV drive through the park in what was described as a “suspicious manner.” Later, when this person was dropping the women off at home, he told police the gray SUV was following him and “he began to hear shots being fired from behind him and then bullets hitting his vehicle. He sped westbound and the Durango rammed him,” the complaint says. The man “denied having a firearm or issues with the occupants of the Durango.”

According to the criminal complaint, on Wednesday, Aug. 23, a police officer located a Dodge Durango near 38th and Green Tree that was burned. The vehicle matched the description of the SUV involved in the homicide — and the license plate also included the letters “ASH.” The complaint says the vehicle wanted in connection with this offense had a registration plate of ASH-2815.

49th and Parkway shooting, Milwaukee

The complaint also refers to a carjacking that took place at the Dollar Tree near 45th and Greenfield in West Milwaukee on Aug. 18. The victim stated two Black males approached her with guns in their hands and demanded the keys to the store and her vehicle. The victim gave up her keys — and the suspects took her vehicle.

On Aug. 24, police spoke with the victim of the carjacking, and showed her a photo array. She picked the defendant’s picture as the person who “asked for keys.” The complaint says the woman “stated that the defendant then pushed past her into the driver’s seat.”

Later on Aug. 24, police conducted two interviews with the defendant. In the first interview, he denied being involved in the homicide near Wahl Park.

49th and Parkway shooting, Milwaukee

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In a second interview, the defendant first “denied being involved in the carjacking or the homicide, but he then made statements that put him as either a witness or as an individual that was willing to aid or assist individuals who commit those crimes,” the complaint says. When confronted with inconsistencies in his story, “the defendant then made admissions regarding his conduct,” the complaint says.

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According to the criminal complaint, the “defendant admitted that he was involved in the carjacking of a Dodge Durango in West Milwaukee.” He also “admitted to driving the Dodge Durango during the homicide” on Aug. 19. When detectives asked what happened to the Durango, the defendant stated “that some ‘dudes’ burned the car by his house,” the complaint says.

The defendant was scheduled to make his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Friday, Sept. 1.