J’Kari M. Perkins, an 18-year-old Black/African American male from Milwaukee, was fatally shot during the early morning hours of March 29, 2025. The shooting occurred shortly after midnight in the 6600 block of North 54th Street, near West Hassel Lane and just north of Mill Road in Milwaukee’s Graceland neighborhood. Police said the violence initially appeared to have grown out of an argument.
Perkins suffered gunshot wounds and was rushed to a local hospital, where efforts to save him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead.
In the immediate aftermath, investigators had little information available publicly about who had fired the shots. Milwaukee police said they were searching for unknown suspects and appealed to anyone who witnessed the shooting or knew what had happened to come forward. Early news coverage reported that no one had been formally taken into custody in connection with the homicide, although a television news crew at the scene observed someone sitting in the back of a police squad car. Police declined at that time to say whether that person was connected to the investigation.
As the investigation developed, the circumstances surrounding Perkins’ killing became more serious than the initial description of an argument suggested. Later reporting based on information gathered from police, prosecutors and Milwaukee County court records said prosecutors believed Perkins was killed during a robbery involving a firearm. Two teenagers were subsequently charged in connection with his death. Available public reporting reviewed for this synopsis did not identify the two defendants by name or provide a sufficiently clear breakdown of the individual criminal counts to reliably state their specific charges, pleas, trial outcomes or sentences.
Perkins was a senior attending Green Tree Preparatory Academy and was only about two months away from graduation when he was killed. His aunt, Jazelynn Goudy, remembered him as someone who liked to joke around and make people laugh. Although school was not always something he enjoyed, his family said he wanted to learn and was working toward finishing his education. His mother, Diedre Nicole Perkins, had died in November 2023 after a lengthy battle with lymphoma, and one of her hopes had been to see Perkins and his younger sister earn their diplomas.
Perkins was the third of four siblings. As a child, he played football for the Neighborhood Children’s Sports League Buccaneers, a team coached by his grandfather. As he grew older, he developed a strong interest in earning his own money. He cut his grandparents’ lawn for extra cash and later worked making pizzas at Barbiere’s Italian Inn on Blue Mound Avenue. Coworkers remembered his smile, humor and quiet nature, describing him as someone who frequently listened to music through headphones while remaining attentive to his job.
At the time of his death, Perkins was saving his earnings toward buying a car. His family said he had not settled on a specific career or plan for life after graduation, but when he set a goal for himself, he tended to pursue it directly. His death before he could graduate left relatives and coworkers grieving a young man who had been working toward the next stage of his life. Milwaukee Public Schools later formally recognized his death, identifying Perkins as a 12th-grade student at Green Tree Preparatory and including him among members of the school community remembered with a moment of silence.
Perkins was born on January 8, 2007, and died on March 29, 2025. His funeral service was held April 11 at Reid’s New Golden Gate Funeral Home in Milwaukee. What began publicly as an investigation into a deadly argument ultimately resulted in prosecutors alleging that the shooting was connected to an effort to rob Perkins of a gun, with two teenagers charged in connection with his killing.
