In the early morning hours of February 18, 2024, a playful moment between young children in a Milwaukee apartment took a tragic turn, ending the life of 4-year-old Jamero Edwards, an African American male. Jamero, his siblings, and other children were temporarily staying at a friend's home near 64th and Bradley. His mother, Tiara Edwards, had fallen asleep on the couch with her purse, which contained a loaded pink-and-chrome revolver, slung around her body.
While his mother slept, Jamero
found the gun in her purse. According to a 6-year-old girl who was present, Jamero handed her the firearm and told her to shoot him. Not understanding the weapon was real and loaded, the young girl pointed the gun and pulled the trigger. The sound of a single "pow" woke the adults in the home, who emerged to find Jamero on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency services were called as a woman in the apartment applied pressure to the wound and rushed him to a nearby hospital. Despite their efforts, Jamero was pronounced dead at the hospital.
In the aftermath of the tragic shooting, Milwaukee police launched an investigation. The focus quickly turned to how the children gained access to a loaded firearm. Tiara Edwards, Jamero's 32-year-old mother, was subsequently arrested and charged with neglecting a child with the consequence of death. According to the criminal complaint, she had left the loaded gun unsecured in her purse while she slept on the floor next to the couch where the children were playing. Another of her children confirmed to investigators that the purse containing the gun was on the floor. A preliminary hearing for Tiara Edwards was set for March 20, 2024.
