Samare’ Heard was an 11-year-old Black/African American boy who died after suffering a gunshot wound inside his Milwaukee home on the night of August 17, 2026. Investigators and family members described the shooting as an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot that occurred while Samare was in the care of his mother’s longtime boyfriend, Christopher Taper. Samare’s mother, Jamie Campbell, had left the home shortly after 9 p.m.
to begin her third-shift job in West Bend, leaving Taper responsible for watching her son.
Campbell said that after leaving for work she spoke with Samare and Taper by telephone. Not long afterward, Taper called her in a panic and told her that Samare had shot himself in the head. Campbell immediately began heading back and contacted her sister, who lived nearby, asking her to go to the house. According to the criminal complaint, Campbell called her sister at approximately 9:37 p.m. When the sister reached the residence, she was alarmed to find no police cars, ambulances, or other emergency responders outside. Authorities said it appeared that no one had called 911 before she arrived.
Campbell’s sister made the emergency call herself. Police and emergency personnel arrived at approximately 9:44 p.m. and found Samare unconscious and not breathing on the living-room floor. Officers attempted lifesaving measures, but he could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators said he had suffered a single gunshot wound to the center of his forehead. A Taurus G3 9 mm handgun was reportedly discovered near his feet.
What happened immediately after the shooting became a central part of the criminal investigation. Prosecutors allege that Taper left the residence without contacting 911 and was gone by the time Samare’s aunt arrived. Police said he also was not answering his telephone. Authorities characterized the circumstances as Taper leaving the child alone after the shooting rather than summoning emergency assistance. Samare’s aunt told investigators she was stunned that Taper had left without calling for help.
Investigators also examined how the firearm came to be accessible inside the home. Campbell told police that she knew Taper was a convicted felon and that he sometimes carried a gun, which she said he kept in a black book bag. Court records cited by local news outlets show that Taper had been convicted of armed robbery in 2008 and received a three-year prison sentence. Because of that felony conviction, prosecutors allege he was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm. Records also showed that he had an unresolved Racine County drug case dating to 2023 involving allegations of possession with intent to deliver THC, fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Milwaukee County prosecutors filed criminal charges against Taper on August 21. He was charged with neglecting a child resulting in death, possession of a firearm by a felon, and two counts of bail jumping. An arrest warrant was issued for him, and police began searching for him. The charges did not accuse Taper of intentionally shooting Samare; rather, the case centered on allegations that a firearm was accessible while the child was under his care and that he failed to summon emergency assistance after the shooting.
Campbell publicly urged Taper to surrender. Although prosecutors and investigators focused on his actions surrounding the shooting, she spoke about the close relationship she believed Taper had shared with her son and said she did not believe he had intentionally abandoned Samare to die. She nevertheless said he needed to turn himself in and face what had happened. The most recent public reporting located continued to describe Taper as wanted on the active arrest warrant; no subsequent report of an arrest, trial, or conviction in connection with Samare’s death was found.
Beyond the investigation, Campbell remembered her son by the nickname “Big ’Mare,” a name reflecting what she described as a maturity beyond his small stature. He had celebrated his birthday on August 7, only days before his death, and was preparing to enter sixth grade. His mother said he was good in school, had won a spelling bee the previous year, enjoyed traveling, and routinely helped at home with chores such as doing laundry, taking out the trash and helping pump gas. She also said Samare had not previously been exposed to firearms, making the circumstances of his death particularly difficult for his family to comprehend.
