Deon Sargent was an 11-year-old Black male whose life ended in a shooting on September 16, 2025, on Milwaukee’s northwest side. Known to his family and friends as “Mister,” Deon was a student at Andrew Douglas Middle School and a dedicated youth football player with the CLE Panthers. Relatives remembered him as energetic, protective, and someone who loved to dance and make TikTok videos.
His coaches described him as a natural leader who had already helped his team win a championship and believed he had a promising future in football.
At about 6:40 to 6:45 p.m. that Tuesday evening, Deon was near North 68th Street and West Silver Spring Drive with several other young people. Witnesses described seeing a group of children gathered near a bus stop shortly before a gunshot rang out. One witness said he saw a child fall while the others ran from the area. Milwaukee police and emergency personnel responded, and Deon was transported to Children’s Wisconsin, but he could not be saved and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office later publicly identified him. His death was recorded as Milwaukee’s 106th homicide of 2025.
The investigation quickly focused on another child. Milwaukee police arrested a 13-year-old boy in connection with Deon’s death and said the shooting occurred during a robbery. Authorities said the encounter escalated when the older boy attempted to take a firearm that Deon had. According to information prosecutors later presented in juvenile court, the 13-year-old had communicated with another person before the encounter about robbing Deon and the children who were with him. Prosecutors said a struggle broke out over the firearm when the teenager tried to take it from Deon. During that struggle, the gun discharged, striking Deon.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said police informed him that Deon and another child had been wrestling over the gun when it fired. Deon’s mother later said she did not know how her son had obtained the weapon. The circumstances surrounding the gun became an important part of the investigation, but authorities continued to treat the confrontation itself as a robbery rather than simply an accidental shooting. Prosecutors alleged the 13-year-old deliberately sought to take property from Deon, even though the defense disputed whether the teenager intentionally caused the gun to fire.
During the 13-year-old suspect’s first juvenile court proceedings, prosecutors disclosed messages they said had been sent to an alleged accomplice encouraging that person to come to the location so they could rob Deon and the others. Prosecutors argued that those communications showed the confrontation had been planned before the struggle began. The teenager’s attorney characterized Deon’s death as a tragic accident and argued that there had not been proof presented that the teenager deliberately pulled the trigger. Because the accused was a juvenile, news organizations did not publicly identify him.
A juvenile court commissioner initially ordered the teenager held in secure detention while prosecutors continued preparing the case. At a later detention hearing, prosecutors said the boy had told detectives that he had not been thinking and believed it would not be difficult to take the gun from Deon. The court commissioner expressed concern both for the teenager’s safety and for the safety of the community, noting the extraordinary danger created when children have access to firearms. The court ordered him to remain in secure custody.
Milwaukee County authorities ultimately proceeded against the 13-year-old through the juvenile justice system in connection with Deon’s death. By late October 2025, prosecutors had charged him, although because the case involved a juvenile, detailed charging and court information was more restricted than it would have been in an adult criminal prosecution. Public reporting did not identify the teenager or provide a publicly documented adult criminal trial or conviction arising from the case.
In the days after the shooting, Deon’s family, teammates, coaches, and community gathered near the scene for a vigil and balloon release. His mother remembered him as a happy child who loved learning, spending time with relatives, playing sports, and making people smile. His football family remembered “Mister” as one of the emotional leaders of the CLE Panthers, someone whose personality seemed much larger than his young age. His teammates continued their season in his memory and later completed an undefeated run while pursuing an opportunity to play in a national championship.
Deon’s death left two families confronting devastating consequences: one grieving the loss of a child and another watching a 13-year-old face the juvenile justice system for conduct prosecutors said began with an attempted robbery. What started as an encounter among children near a Milwaukee bus stop escalated within moments into a struggle over a firearm and a fatal gunshot, ending Deon’s life and leaving his family, school, football team, and community mourning a boy they remembered simply as “Mister.”
