A 17-year-old is recovering in the hospital after being shot in the head by a rubber bullet.
Caprice Wade said her son Lazerick Wade, 17,went several blocks away from their home in Milwaukee to check in on a gathering of people outside a home. Minutes later, she had to rush him to a nearby hospital.
“My heart sunk to the bottom of my feet,” Caprice Wade said. “I didn’t know what to do.”
Cell phone video shows Lazerick in a blue hoodie moments before the shot was fired just feet away from officers. Caprice said her son was asked to move out of the street before the shot was fired.
“When he turned around to look at me, his head was split wide open,” she recalled after picking up her son.
A spokesperson with Milwaukee Police did confirm rubber bullets were used as part of non-lethal munitions to disperse crowds at the location.
A police spokesperson said the department is investigating Caprice’s claims but are still investigating the alleged incident.
“He’s in intensive care. We’re just waiting to see what else from there,” Caprice Wade said.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has gone on-record decrying certain use-of-force.
"I stressed the need to bring the temperature down. Bring the temperature down,” Barrett said during an interview.
The home where Wade was shot at was the site of a chaotic evening Tuesday as crowds gathered over concerns of two missing teens and other crimes believed to be connected to the home.
Milwaukee police said they responded to the home on June 22 to check for a missing 13-year-old and a 15-year-old. The officers searched the home several times but did not locate the teens, the news release said.
MPD also sent an update in relation to calls at the home:
For the residence that was targeted (the lower) on N. 40th St, there were 8 calls for service at that residence in 2020. 6 of those calls were related to the missing checks, threats, and the fire that occurred on Monday and Tuesday. None of the calls were related to prostitution, sex trafficking or Human Trafficking.
This story was originally reported by Tony Atkins on tmj4.com.
