Washington Park shooting in Milwaukee, 17-year-old charged

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Onterio Girley

MILWAUKEE - A 17-year-old teenager faces several felony charges after a shooting at Washington Park in Milwaukee.

Prosecutors say Onterio Girley fired a fully-automatic gun at the north end of the park on the night of June 19.

Court filings say surveillance video appears to show Girley firing a gun at the same time that a 15-year-old boy was shot and wounded.

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According to a criminal complaint, that 15-year-old boy is a suspect in the shooting death of 17-year-old Sherrone Thornton, who was shot and killed at the park the same night.

Prosecutors say charges in connection to Thornton's death "are still under review and, if issued, will be in a separate complaint."

Onterio Girley is charged with the following:

1st-Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety
Possession of a Firearm by an Adjudicated Delinquent
Sell/Possess/Use/Transport a Machine Gun
Felony Bail Jumping

Case details

According to the criminal complaint, on June 19, a Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office detective responded to Washington Park in Milwaukee.

Dispatch told the detective that there were about 50 people on the north side of the park who were fighting. He saw the group of people, juveniles between 14–18 years old, yelling and moving in groups.

While monitoring the crowd to determine the aggressors in the fight, the detective heard five gunshots and when he tried to figure out where the shots came from, he heard fully-automatic gunfire from the same area.

The detective saw a black male with a thin build wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with his arm in the air and holding a tan and black pistol. The detective noted a silver device on the rear of the slide, which he knew to be a "switch" that makes a semi-automatic firearm function as a fully-automatic weapon, per the complaint.

The person with the automatic firearm, later identified as Onterio Girley, continued to fire multiple bursts of gunfire from the weapon that he was holding in his hand. With his back to the detective, Girley leveled his weapon out towards the crowd as he ran away. The detective, in an unmarked squad car, followed Girley to try and apprehend him.

The detective used his squad car to follow Girley. He positioned his squad in a way to disrupt Girley's path, which caused Girley to be hit by the vehicle. Girley was taken into custody, and his firearm was found near the area where he ran away.

The next day, another detective spoke to the 15-year-old at Children's Wisconsin, who was being treated for gunshot wounds sustained at the shooting at Washington Park. He was also taken into custody related to the shooting death of 17-year-old Sherrone Thornton.

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Based on the review of drone surveillance video from the incident, the 15-year-old appears to have been shot by gunfire coming from the automatic firearm used by Girley, per the complaint

This investigation is ongoing, and the complaint does not reflect all the information known to law enforcement at this time. Charges may be amended or added as the investigation continues.

Prior juvenile adjudication

Onterio Girley is an adjudicated delinquent of Armed Robbery – Party to a Crime. Because of this, Onterio Girley is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Open felony case

Onterio Girley is also charged with one count of Possessing a Firearm – Adjudicated Delinquent of a Felony. Girley was released from custody on a $750 cash bail on May 24, 2024, with conditions of bail that he does not commit any new crimes and that he does not possess a firearm.

Crime and Public Safety News Milwaukee