Milwaukee boy shot, killed; mother accused of neglect

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Tiara Edwards

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee woman is now charged after her 4-year-old son was shot and killed in February.

Prosecutors accuse 32-year-old Tiara Edwards of neglecting a child (consequence is death) after she allegedly left an unsecured, loaded gun in her purse as she slept.

The shooting happened the morning of Feb. 18 near 64th and Bradley. A criminal complaint states several children were crying and yelling when officers arrived, and the victim – identified as Jamero Edwards – was already being driven to a hospital. A 6-year-old girl said she shot Jamero after he handed her a gun and told her to shoot him.

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A woman who carried the 4-year-old into a hospital told police she applied pressure to his wound the entire time, per the complaint. He was still breathing when they arrived, but was pronounced dead at the hospital despite life-saving attempts.

The complaint states the woman told police that Edwards and her kids, including Jamero, were temporarily staying at the woman's home because they were in the process of moving. She said the 6-year-old woke her up and said "(Jamero) had the gun." The woman then found the 4-year-old on the ground, and she and Edwards' cousin drove the boy to the hospital.

There was a pink-and-chrome revolver – later identified as Edwards' – on the floor a foot away from Jamero's body, according to the complaint.

Edwards told police she recalled falling asleep on the couch the night before the shooting, the complaint states. She said she remembered kids trying to wake her up a few hours before the shooting, but she fell back asleep and eventually awoke to a "pow" and the kids screaming about the shooting.

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The complaint states Edwards told police she looked over and saw her son with a gunshot wound. She said she could not find her cellphone, so she rushed to a neighbor's to call 911.

Edwards said she had taken a concealed carry course, per the complaint, but never paid for the permit. She also told police the gun was in her purse, which was around her body, and that she kept it loaded.

Shooting scene near 64th and Bradley

Police later interviewed the 6-year-old. The complaint states she told investigators that Jamero handed her a gun and told her to shoot him, so she pointed the gun and pulled the trigger – but did not know the gun was loaded. She said the gun was inside Edwards' purse, which was on the floor next to the couch.

Another of Edwards' children, who was also present at the time of the shooting, spoke to police. The complaint states that the child told investigators that their mother's purse with the loaded gun was on the floor as well.

Edwards made her initial court appearance on March 11. Her cash bond was set at $4,000.

Crime and Public Safety News Milwaukee