On a tragic Sunday morning, May 1, 2016, the life of 42-year-old Hispanic male, Gabriel Sanchez, was abruptly ended in a violent encounter at his West Allis apartment. The incident unfolded when a neighbor, Zachary Hays, began forcefully banging on the door of the apartment Sanchez shared with his partner and their two sons.
The confrontation began around 6 a.m. when Hays, a resident of an adjacent apartment, woke the family with loud knocking.
Sanchez's partner answered the door to Hays, who was asking for a key to the basement. After she retrieved it and gave it to him, she heard more banging. When she asked for the key back, Hays became irrational, demanding to know the whereabouts of his brother, who he insisted was inside the Sanchez residence.
As Hays attempted to force his way into their home, Gabriel Sanchez intervened, joining his partner in a struggle to keep the door shut. It was during this struggle that Hays produced a gun and fired a shot through the door, striking Sanchez in the chest. Fatally wounded, Sanchez urged his family to run for safety. Hays then reached inside the apartment and fired again as the woman and her two sons fled to a bathroom for cover. Officers responding to a call about someone trying to kick down a door found Sanchez lying in the doorway of his apartment. He was moved to an ambulance where he was pronounced dead from the single gunshot wound to his chest.
The suspect, Zachary Hays, was later identified by Sanchez's partner. He was subsequently charged with first-degree reckless homicide for Sanchez's death. The same day, Hays was also involved in a fatal drive-by shooting on Interstate 90/94. Following his arrest, concerns were raised about his mental health, leading to a competency evaluation. A court later found him competent to stand trial. In August 2016, Zachary Hays pleaded not guilty to the charge of first-degree reckless homicide in the death of Gabriel Sanchez.
