On a summer evening in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the life of 32-year-old Ronald Franklin Jr. was tragically cut short on June 6, 2020. He was the victim of a fatal shooting that occurred near the intersection of 50th and Center Streets. The incident unfolded as Franklin was in his car, which was parked in the area. A male suspect approached the driver's side of the vehicle, produced a handgun, and opened fire.
Struck by multiple bullets, Franklin lost control of his car.
The vehicle then moved eastward, striking a building before coming to a final stop. When police arrived at the scene, they found Franklin unresponsive in the driver's seat. An autopsy later revealed that he had sustained approximately 15 gunshot wounds. The sheer violence of the act left the community in shock and mourning the loss of a young life.
The investigation into the death of Ronald Franklin Jr. led Milwaukee police to identify a suspect through a combination of witness accounts and surveillance footage. Witnesses reported seeing the shooter and described a getaway vehicle. Crucially, a camera on a Milwaukee County Transit System bus captured the license plate of the suspect's rental car. This piece of evidence proved vital in tracking down the individual responsible.
Two days after the shooting, law enforcement located the rental vehicle and arrested 30-year-old Trasean Thomas in connection with the homicide. Thomas was subsequently charged with first-degree reckless homicide as a party to a crime, with the use of a dangerous weapon, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. The charges brought a sense of justice to the grieving family and friends of Ronald Franklin Jr., as the legal process against the alleged perpetrator began.
