Khamaren Adell, a 27-year-old Black/African American man from Milwaukee, was killed on July 9, 2026, in a daylight drive-by shooting on the city’s north side. Adell was known in Milwaukee’s music community as the rapper TrapBaby Reno. The shooting unfolded shortly after 2 p.m. outside a convenience store near North 27th Street and West Atkinson Avenue in the Garden Homes neighborhood, turning an ordinary summer afternoon into a fatal attack.
Adell and others were inside a parked SUV when a white Lexus approached. Surveillance footage showed people inside the passing vehicle lowering the windows before gunfire erupted. Weapons could be seen extending from both the front and rear passenger-side windows as multiple rounds were fired into the SUV. The attack happened within seconds, leaving the targeted vehicle riddled with bullet holes and at least one window shattered. People living nearby reported hearing at least five gunshots.
After the shooting, the occupants of the targeted vehicle tried to get out. Adell made it from the SUV to the sidewalk before collapsing and becoming motionless. A second victim was struck by the gunfire but managed to escape the immediate scene and was later taken to a hospital with injuries authorities described as non-life-threatening. First responders attempted CPR on Adell, but their efforts were unsuccessful and he died from his injuries. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office formally identified him the following day.
The circumstances surrounding Adell’s final hours made the killing especially painful for his family. Relatives said he had been on his way to his daughter’s fourth birthday party. A cousin said Adell had FaceTimed him that day and that they were supposed to attend the celebration. Friends and relatives remembered Adell as someone who cared about the people around him and described him as loving, dependable and someone who had been part of their lives since childhood. His friend Reno Bandy said he viewed Adell almost like family.
Those close to Adell believed the shooting may have been a targeted attack rather than random gunfire. Bandy speculated that Adell’s growing success as a rapper might have played a role, although police had not publicly confirmed a motive. Adell had developed a following under the TrapBaby Reno name and was well known among friends and supporters in Milwaukee’s local music scene. Investigators did not publicly identify a specific dispute, individual or event that led to the shooting.
The shooters fled in their vehicle immediately after opening fire. Milwaukee police began searching for the people responsible and asked the public for information that could identify the occupants of the vehicle. In the initial investigation, authorities had surveillance footage of the drive-by and the description of the white vehicle, but police did not announce the names of any suspected shooters.
The killing also renewed concerns about violence around the 27th Street and Atkinson Avenue area. Residents and community advocates said the neighborhood had experienced repeated shootings and other violent incidents. Community activist Vince Toney noted that two people had been killed at the same intersection in October 2025 and expressed frustration that another fatal shooting had occurred there. The daylight nature of Adell’s killing, outside businesses and with other people nearby, intensified those concerns.
As of the latest publicly available reporting located through August 30, 2026, no arrest had been announced in connection with Adell’s killing, and authorities had not publicly named any suspects or filed charges against anyone for the drive-by shooting. There consequently had been no reported trial or conviction. The case remained an active homicide investigation, with police continuing to seek information identifying the people who fired from the passing vehicle and fled after killing Adell and wounding the second victim.
