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Milwaukee woman allegedly shot teenager

A 22-year-old Milwaukee woman is suspected of shooting 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 manslaughter, aiding and abetting a crime and use of a dangerous weapon. She appeared in court Wednesday, where bail was set at $150,000.

According to Milwaukee police, the shooting occurred on August 15 at around 3:15 p.m. in the 1400 block of North 39th Street.

According to a criminal complaint, Johnson admitted to being the shooter and said she fired at a group of four people in her neighborhood who she suspected of breaking into her sister's car parked in front of her home.

Johnson said she wanted to “scare” the group and did not intend to hit anyone. However, prosecutors say Golden-Richmond was struck by a bullet in the back and later died at Froedtert Hospital.

Johnson's sister observed four people attempting to break into her vehicle. Johnson then grabbed her mother's gun and confronted the group, who then ran away, the charges say.

But Johnson, who was sitting in the passenger seat with her mother, decided to drive on and search for the group when they encountered four pedestrians, the complaint says.

Johnson shouted something at them, causing two of them to run away before Johnson fired about four shots until her gun jammed, prosecutors said.

One of the young men in the group of four, identified in the complaint by the initials EPL, said Johnson initially fired into the air but then “shot in her direction and threw himself into the ground with his feet,” the complaint states. EPL also said Golden-Richmond wanted to steal a car and smashed the window of a Hyundai, the complaint states.

Johnson did not believe she hit anyone and said “she just wanted to scare people so they wouldn't come back,” the complaint states. Both Johnson and her mother said they did not know what the boys looked like and were unsure if it was the same group of four that broke into her family's vehicle.

Johnson then drove home and found a Facebook livestream of the aftermath of the shooting. A group of local residents gathered at the scene and at one point administered Narcan to him because they thought he had overdosed. Johnson said she came to the realization while watching the stream that she was likely the person who killed Golden-Richmond, the complaint states.

Johnson told her mother she had disposed of the gun in a trash can in the area of ​​North 23rd Street and West Keefe Avenue, the complaint states. Police said a search of the area did not turn up any weapons and no weapon was found on the group of four.

Golden-Richmond was looking forward to starting high school in the fall, said his mother, Princella, who spoke briefly at a vigil Friday and asked that her last name not be used. She could not be reached for comment 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 young black men, your lives are valuable,” she said. “You are an endangered species, young men. Your lives are valuable.”

Where to find help

The Office of Community Wellness of Safety in Milwaukee recommends these resources for free assistance:

414Life Outreach and Conflict Mediation Support: 414-439-5525.

Milwaukee County 24-hour mental health crisis hotline: 414-257-7222.

Milwaukee Children’s Mobile Crisis and Trauma Response Team: 414-257-7621.

National Crisis Text Line: Text “HOPELINE” to 741741 to speak to a trained crisis counselor.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255.

The national domestic violence hotline is 800-799-7233.

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