12th and Highland gas station shooting; Milwaukee man charged
Reginald Adams
MILWAUKEE - A 40-year-old Milwaukee man is charged in connection with a shooting incident that happened as a gas station at 12th and Highland on July 1. The accused is Reginald Adams – and he faces the following criminal counts:
- Attempt first-degree intentional homicide
- First-degree recklessly endangering safety
- Possession of a firearm by a felon
- Drive or operate a vehicle without owner's consent
According to the criminal complaint, a Milwaukee police officer was dispatched to a gas station at 12th and Highland on the evening of Friday, July 1 to investigate a report of a shooting. When the officer arrived on the scene, she "observed a blood trail leading from the gas station towards Mt. Sinai Hospital."
Investigators interviewed witnesses -- one who stated a man entered the gas station "and immediately began firing a gun at another man who had long dreadlocks." The shooting victim then ran past the witness "while bleeding, and continued running down the block." The witness told police there were additional gunshots and the victim was seen falling to the ground.
The shooting victim was taken to Froedtert Hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds to his chest, thigh and arm.
The complaint says detectives "located eight spent casings and four bullet fragments" inside the gas station. Outside Mt. Sinai Hospital, they located "five more spent casings, a bullet and a bullet fragment," the complaint says.
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Investigators reviewed surveillance video of the gas station. It shows the defendant enter the gas station and begin threatening the victim a short time later. A fight ensued. The two separated -- and the defendant was outside. The complaint says Adams then "fires at (the victim's chest from no more than 2 feet away." More shots were fired -- and the victim ran out of the store.
Using the surveillance video, detectives were able to determine the defendant's "flightpath." They later located a car that had two more spent casings and a 9mm handgun.
The complaint says on Sunday, July 3, the defendant was seen walking near 17th and Galena. Officers took him into custody -- "noting that he was wearing the same shots and sock as he was at the time of the shooting" as seen in the surveillance video.
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In an interview with authorities, Adams stated "he returned to the gas station, with the intention of shooting (the victim) in the face. The defendant stated that he then followed (the victim) in the car to make sure that he had shot him," the complaint says.
Online court records show Adams was scheduled to make his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Thursday, July 7.