Wisconsin gunman slaughters 4 teens and woman in their home, then calls 911 to say his family is dead
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN: A 43-year-old man reportedly shot and killed five people at a home in Milwaukee on Monday, April 27, and then called 911 to report his family was dead, according to the police. Four of out five people found dead at the scene were under the age of 20. The man, identified as Christopher P. Stokes, was arrested at the scene.
The Milwaukee Police Department released a statement on Tuesday, April 28, identifying the five victims as 14-year-old Demetrius Thomas; 16-year-old Tera Agee, 17-year-old Lakeitha Stokes, 19-year-old Marcus Stokes, and 41-year-old Teresa Thomas. Authorities revealed that all the victims were known to the suspect, however, they declined to confirm Stokes' relation with them.
Stokes, amid the killing spree, spared a toddler, who was found alive in the house, and was taken to a local hospital for medical evaluation, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said. "I think that child is fine. The loss of life is something I take very seriously, and this is obviously a horrific incident in our city," Barrett said.
"The living conditions here, this is obviously a poor neighborhood and I don’t know how many people lived in this house," he said. "I don’t know if there was more than one family. But again, this is a stressful period and we’ll have to wait and see exactly what happened here." Friends of the family have set up a GoFundMe page for the child. The toddler is believed to be three-years-old.
A police statement said that the case is expected to be forwarded soon to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office for charges, while the suspect remains in police custody, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Chief Alfonso Morales, during a press conference, recounted Monday's incident, saying that they had received a call from a man at 10:30 am, who told them that his family was dead. When officers arrived at the house in the 2800 block of North 12th Street, Milwaukee, they found all the victims dead inside in what appeared to be a domestic shooting.
Morales said that the investigators recovered a weapon from the scene and believe that Stokes acted alone in this crime. The chief also added that there was no threat to the public. A motive for the brutal crime has not yet been revealed. "Understand, this is a very tragic event," Morales said.
Stokes reportedly has a lengthy criminal record in Milwaukee County dating as far back as 1997. The 43-year-old also has domestic violence convictions involving at least two separate women. According to online records, he was convicted in 2002 of misdemeanor battery and was sentenced to probation. He was ordered to attend domestic abuse counseling and was prohibited from possessing firearms.
Stokes, in 2007, pleaded guilty to felony battery, felony bail jumping and felony intimidation of a witness, the outlet reported. He was subsequently sentenced to four and a half years in prison, prohibited from possessing firearms, and was ordered to complete a batterers' intervention course. He also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in 2017, and was sentenced to a month in jail with work-release privileges.