On a cold winter's night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the life of a 16-year-old Black female named Niesha Harris-Brazell was tragically cut short. On January 2, 2022, while working at a Burger King on Capitol Drive, she was fatally shot during what initially appeared to be a robbery. Police responded to a call at about 10:25 p.m. and found Harris-Brazell with gunshot wounds. She was rushed to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries.
The initial description of the suspect was of a man with a heavy build, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and tan pants, who fled in a black Chevy Impala.
As the investigation deepened, a more complex and tragic story emerged. Prosecutors soon alleged that the robbery was not a random act of violence but a staged event that Harris-Brazell had been a part of. The plan was reportedly orchestrated by 41-year-old Antoine Edwards, the father of Harris-Brazell's best friend and co-worker, who was also 16. According to the criminal complaint, the three had planned for Edwards to come to the drive-thru window around closing time to fake a robbery and take the cash from the register.
The plan went horribly wrong when another Burger King employee, 34-year-old Derrick Ellis, who was not aware of the scheme, saw Edwards at the drive-thru window with a gun. Believing a real robbery was in progress, Ellis, a convicted felon who was illegally carrying a firearm, pulled out his own weapon and fired toward Edwards. In the ensuing chaos, Harris-Brazell was caught in the crossfire and struck by the bullets fired by Ellis. Surveillance footage showed Edwards, who never discharged his own weapon, fleeing the scene after the shots were fired.
In the aftermath, both Antoine Edwards and Derrick Ellis faced serious charges. Edwards was arrested and charged with felony murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and intentionally contributing to the delinquency of a child leading to death. His daughter was also taken into custody and reportedly confessed the details of the staged robbery to the police, implicating herself, her father, and Harris-Brazell. While Edwards later admitted to the plan, his daughter's involvement was part of his confession. Harris-Brazell's family, however, has publicly disputed the claim that she was a willing participant. Derrick Ellis, who initially fled the scene, eventually turned himself in to the police. He was charged with homicide by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon.
The legal process brought some measure of conclusion to the tragic event. Antoine Edwards pleaded guilty to felony murder and in April 2023 was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Derrick Ellis pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by an out-of-state felon. His sentence of five years in prison was stayed, and he was placed on probation for four years, with a requirement to serve one year in the House of Correction. The Burger King location where the shooting occurred was later shut down by the Milwaukee Common Council.
