"Who would do this?" As police look for his killer(s), funeral arrangements set for Bill Thao



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Bill Thao's father tells FOX6 News funeral arrangements have been set for the 13-month-old boy who died after shots were fired into a home near 73rd and Mill last Saturday night, December 27th.

A visitation begins at 8:00 a.m. at Lakeview Funeral Home near 76th and Brown Deer Road on Friday, January 2nd. A service will follow, beginning at 2:00 p.m.

Milwaukee police continue to investigate the shooting that took Bill Thao's life. So far, no one is in custody. Police continue to search for the person or person(s) responsible. They've said they have some strong leads, and they have said they’re analyzing ballistic evidence from more than one gun.

The baby was visiting with family at the home near 73rd and Mill when he was shot. He died at the hospital.

Pinelawn Memorial Park on West Capitol Drive in Milwaukee has offered to cover the cost of Bill Thao's plot and burial services.

The family has chosen a space that is large enough for other family members to be laid to rest around the baby later on. Bill Thao will be buried in the center of the plot.

Bill Thao was the youngest of two children.

Reminders of the life the little boy lived are all over his family's home.

"This is the Christmas gift that I gave to him, and he loved it. This is the picture that they took when we came out of the hospital," Thao's father, Somboon Thao told FOX6 News.

Memories are now all baby Bill's parents and his three-year-old brother Magic have left.

"Every night he's looking for his little brother. I don't deserve this. I really don't. To my knowledge, to what I know, I don't deserve this. Who would do this?" Somboon Thao said.

Somboon Thao says he had just dropped his sons off at a relative's home on Saturday evening to practice for a church program when it happened. Police say more than a dozen bullets ripped through the home. One hit baby Bill.

Somboon Thao says he raced back to the home as soon as he heard what happened, and he was able to catch the ambulance before it left for the hospital.



"He raised his hand and I raised my hand and he held my two fingers," Somboon Thao said.

Somboon Thao tells FOX6 News the support from the community as he deals with losing his baby boy has been amazing.

"Thank you for supporting me -- even thought they don't know me -- even though I don't know them," Somboon Thao said.

The boy's father says while the support helps, it doesn't take away the fact that just days after Christmas, the family is planning a funeral.

"The gift that I have is gone. The happiness I had and enjoyed is not there no more. It's gone," Somboon Thao said.

Police are asking for the public’s assistance in finding the person or persons responsible for the shooting that killed Bill Thao. Anyone with information is asked to call police at (414) 935-7360.

CLICK HERE to access a Go Fund Me page established by Bill Thao’s family.



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