Milwaukee woman, 22, accused of killing boy, 14, after she suspected him of breaking into a car

A 22-year-old Milwaukee woman is accused of shooting and killing 14-year-old Alijah S. Golden-Richmond after she suspected him of breaking into her sister's car.

Zariah A. Johnson was charged Tuesday with first-degree reckless homicide, as party to a crime, use of a dangerous weapon. She appeared in court Wednesday, where bail was set at $150,000.

Milwaukee police say the shooting took place at about 3:15 p.m. Aug. 15 on the 1400 block of North 39th Street.

According to a criminal complaint, Johnson admitted to being the shooter, and said she fired shots at a group of four in her neighborhood, who she suspected of breaking into her sister's vehicle that was parked outside her residence.

Johnson said she wanted to "scare" the group and didn't intend to strike anyone. Prosecutors say a bullet struck Golden-Richmond in the back, however, and he would later die at Froedtert Hospital.

Johnson's sister observed four people trying to break into her vehicle, so Johnson grabbed her mother's gun and confronted the group, who ran away, the complaint states.

But Johnson, with her mother in the passenger seat, decided to drive around and go looking for the group when they came across four people walking, according to the complaint.

Johnson yelled something at them and two of them ran away before Johnson fired about four shots until her gun jammed, prosecutors said.

One of the young people from the group of four that is identified by the initials EPL in the complaint said Johnson initially began firing in the air but then "starting shooting in their direction and hit dirt by his feet," according to the complaint. EPL also said that Golden-Richmond wanted to steal a car and broke the window on a Hyundai, the complaint states.

Johnson didn't think she hit anyone and said "she was only trying to scare people so they did not come back," the complaint states. Both Johnson and her mother said they don't know what the boys looked like and weren't sure if it was the same group of four breaking into their family's vehicle.

Johnson then drove home and found a Facebook Live stream of the aftermath of the shooting. A group of residents began to gather at the scene and at one point administered Narcan, thinking he may be overdosing. Johnson said she came to the realization while watching the stream that she likely was the person who killed Golden-Richmond, the complaint states.

Johnson told her mother that she disposed of the gun in a garbage can in the area of North 23rd Street and West Keefe Avenue, according to complaint. Police said a search of the area led to no discovery of a gun and no gun was discovered with the group of four.

Golden-Richmond was looking forward to starting high school this fall, according to his mother, Princella, who spoke briefly at a vigil Friday and asked that her last name not be used. She couldn't be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Pastor Belinda Jones of Walking in the Spirit Ministries was Golden-Richmond's aunt and led a prayer at Friday's vigil. "Tell these Black young men, your life is valuable," she said. "You're an endangered species, young men. Your life is valuable."

Where to find help

Milwaukee's Office of Community Wellness of Safety recommends these resources for free support:

414Life outreach and conflict mediation support: 414-439-5525.

Milwaukee County's 24-Hour Mental Health Crisis Line: 414-257-7222.

Milwaukee's Child Mobile Crisis and Trauma Response Team: 414-257-7621.

National crisis text line: Text HOPELINE to 741741 to text with a trained crisis counselor.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee woman, 22, accused of killing boy, 14, after she suspected him of breaking into a car