On a tragic Saturday, February 5, 2022, the life of Arieuna Nichole Reed, a 23-year-old Black female, was cut short in Brown Deer, a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A dedicated mother, she had just dropped off her two-year-old son, Egypt, at the apartment of his father and her ex-boyfriend, 26-year-old Larvell Huddleston. What should have been a routine co-parenting exchange turned into a horrifying act of violence when Huddleston opened fire from his second-floor balcony, fatally wounding Reed
as she was leaving. The incident, which police later described as stemming from a domestic dispute, unfolded in the parking lot of the apartment complex.
In the immediate aftermath of the initial shots, chaos and bravery intertwined. A 31-year-old resident of the complex, Michael Edward Anderson, rushed to Arieuna's aid in an attempt to get her to safety. Tragically, his act of kindness cost him his life as Huddleston shot and killed him as well. Another man, 36-year-old Eric Lewis, also tried to help and was shot in the leg but survived his injuries. As police arrived at the scene, Huddleston fired at them from his balcony, initiating a standoff. No officers were injured during the exchange.
The standoff culminated in Huddleston taking his own life. During the tense situation, he streamed a live video on Facebook, briefly showing Reed's body and discussing his own mental health struggles, stating, "Me mentally, I've been through too much… I'm not straight. I'm not crazy, but it's a lot of s–t I can't take.” He also made a call to Reed's parents, telling them, "It's over, come get Egypt now." Their young son was found unharmed inside the apartment after the ordeal ended. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office later officially ruled Arieuna Reed's and Michael Anderson's deaths as homicides and Larvell Huddleston's death as a suicide.
Arieuna Reed was remembered by her family as a bright light and the life of their family. She was a medical assistant who had earned a degree from Bryant and Stratton College and was studying to become a registered nurse. Ambitious and creative, she was also in the process of launching her own vending machine business. Her family, shocked by the sudden violence from a man they had known for years and even had Bible study with, was left to mourn a beloved mother, daughter, and sister, and to care for a young boy who lost both his parents in a single, senseless act.
