Jade Riser, a 9-year-old Black/African American female from Milwaukee, was fatally wounded when gunfire entered the home where she was staying in the city’s Harambee neighborhood on the night of July 2, 2026. Although the shooting occurred on July 2, online reporting from Milwaukee police and local news organizations states that Jade did not die that night. She remained hospitalized in critical condition for five days and died from her injuries on July 7.
The shooting happened at approximately 11:19 p.m. in the 300 block of East Burleigh Street, near North Richards Street. Investigators said the shots were fired from outside the residence and traveled into the home, striking Jade while she was inside.
Family members said Jade had been in her bedroom, reportedly in bed, when the barrage of gunfire came through the residence. Her aunt said Jade was struck in the head. In the moments after she was wounded, relatives said she attempted to crawl toward her older sister and tried to communicate that something was wrong, but she was unable to speak. Emergency responders transported her to a hospital, where relatives remained with her as doctors treated the devastating injury. A great-aunt later said Jade had no brain function following the shooting, and on July 7 the family made the painful decision to remove her from life support. Her mother said she stayed beside Jade through her final moments.
Nothing in the available police reporting indicated that Jade was involved in whatever circumstances led to the gunfire. Investigators had not publicly established who or what the shooter was targeting, and relatives repeatedly emphasized that Jade was simply inside a place where she should have been safe. Her family described her as bright, creative and active, someone who was frequently smiling and laughing. She enjoyed dancing, doing flips, making TikTok videos with her sisters, painting her nails and doing hair. Her mother recalled a recent family trip to Bay Beach, where Jade enthusiastically rode amusement rides that even surprised her mother with how fearless she was.
The shooting also traumatized other children in the family. Relatives said Jade’s siblings and other children were present during the aftermath and witnessed what happened, leading the family to seek counseling and other support for them. Her uncle later organized a fundraiser intended to help with funeral expenses, therapy and assistance for Jade’s sisters. In the days following her death, relatives, friends and neighbors gathered near Burleigh and Richards for a memorial and balloon release, mourning Jade while publicly calling for the person responsible to be identified and brought to justice.
One potentially significant development occurred immediately after the shooting. According to court-record information reported by FOX6, officers saw a vehicle speeding away from the area and a high-speed police chase followed. Police eventually caught the driver, a 28-year-old man. He was charged with fleeing an officer, recklessly endangering safety and obstructing an officer, along with two counts each of child neglect and child abandonment. However, authorities did not establish that the man was the shooter or that he participated in Jade’s killing. FOX6 specifically declined to identify him because his connection, if any, to the shooting had not been determined. The charges therefore should not be interpreted as an arrest for Jade’s death.
Milwaukee police continued describing the person who fired the fatal shots as unknown. Investigators had not announced a motive, identified a publicly named suspect or disclosed whether the residence itself, another person inside it, or someone elsewhere in the area had been the intended target. Police appealed for witnesses and others with information to come forward, while Jade’s family made similar pleas. Her mother said she wanted whoever was responsible to surrender and stressed that her child had done nothing to deserve what happened.
In the available reporting, no arrest had been announced that was directly tied to Jade’s shooting, and no suspected shooter had been publicly charged. Because no one had been charged with causing her death, there were likewise no reported homicide trial proceedings or convictions connected to the killing. The separate arrest following the police pursuit remained only a possible investigative lead whose relationship to the gunfire was publicly unclear. Jade’s death therefore remained an active, unresolved Milwaukee shooting investigation, with her family continuing to seek answers about who fired into the home and why.
