Milwaukee fatal shooting; 25-year-old man accused, now charged
MILWAUKEE - A 25-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of fatally shooting a man and wounding a woman near 23rd and Burnham on the city's south side. The accused is Christopher Cruz-Gonzalez – and he faces the following criminal counts:
- First-degree intentional homicide
- First-degree reckless injury
- First-degree recklessly endangering safety
- Possession of a firearm by a felon
Christopher Cruz-Gonzalez
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were dispatched to a residence near 23rd and Burnham on Thursday, July 13 for a shooting. When an officer arrived on the scene, he spotted a victim lying face down on the porch steps. Despite life-saving measures, the victim did not survive his injuries -- he was later identified as 33-year-old Orlando Rodriguez-Rivera.
Moments later, the responding officer spotted a second victim, a 27-year-old woman, who had been shot in the arm.
Investigators recovered a total of seven fired cartridge casings in the area of the shooting. Officials determined "all 7 fired casings are consistent with having been fired by the same firearm," the complaint says.
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Milwaukee police reviewed security camera footage from several locations. The complaint says the "video shows that the suspect was wearing a black baseball cap, a gray t-shirt with the number '2' on the back over a dark-colored, long sleeve shirt, black pants, and wearing a satchel over his arm. The "security video shows the suspect walk up" to where the victims were. After a short period of time, "the defendant pulls out a firearm and shoots in the direction of Orlando Rodriguez-Rivera" and two other people, the complaint says. One of the two other people was a 2-year-old child.
23rd and Burnham shooting, Milwaukee
The video shows after police arrive, the "suspect can be seen returning to the scene from the alley again, as though he had run around the block through alleys," the complaint says. One officer realized the suspect matched the description of the defendant. Cruz-Gonzalez was detained for detectives.
When questioned by investigators, the defendant "stated that he was the suspect shooter depicted in the gray shirt," the complaint says. The court paperwork also says he "acknowledged that he was the shooter who shot and killed Orlando Rodriguez-Rivera, shot and hit (the second person), and shot multiple times in a direction of which a 2-year-old was seated.
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Cruz-Gonzalez made his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Tuesday, July 18. Cash bond was set at $150,000.