A Milwaukee man has been charged after a pregnant woman was shot in the abdomen during an altercation near 23rd and Michigan streets, causing the death of her unborn child.
Terrance Houston, 28, is accused of first-degree reckless injury and two felony counts of possessing a firearm as a felon. He is being held in Milwaukee County Jail on $75,000 cash bond.
The shooting happened at about 12.17am on Friday, August 21, according to Milwaukee police. Officers found the 19-year-old victim with a gunshot wound, while her boyfriend, the father of the unborn child, was attempting to stop the bleeding.
Milwaukee shooting followed confrontation
In a criminal complaint, prosecutors said the incident followed an earlier dispute involving Houston and several other people. Witnesses told police that Houston became involved in a fight before the confrontation moved outside.
The victim’s boyfriend allegedly heard Houston threaten to shoot people before gunfire erupted. As members of the group ran towards an apartment, Houston is accused of following them while continuing to threaten them.
The complaint alleges that Houston fired a handgun into the ground before firing more shots as the group fled. The woman, who was seven months pregnant, told an officer that she had gone outside after hearing shouting and was struck in the abdomen.
She underwent surgery after being taken to hospital. The unborn child later died, although a final autopsy report examining the cause of death was still pending at the end of August.
Houston was arrested on August 26 at an apartment near Sherman and Hampton. Police said they found a handgun there, which Houston later identified as the weapon he had fired near 23rd and Michigan.
According to the complaint, Houston told investigators that the other group had returned after an earlier fight and that one person was carrying what he described as a large rifle. He said he took a gun from his sister’s bag and fired towards the ground to frighten them away before chasing them.
Houston also told police he believed a bullet may have ricocheted off the ground and struck the victim. The allegations have not been tested in court, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
His preliminary hearing was due to take place on Thursday, but court records showed that he had not yet been assigned a lawyer by the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office. He is expected back in court next month.
