On the morning of November 4, 2023, 14-year-old Joshua Johnson was shot while visiting friends at his home in Bay City, Wisconsin. The group was in the basement when 17-year-old Riley James Lacroix brought a .22 LR semi-automatic handgun into the house without Joshua’s parents knowing. The boys were wrestling and fooling around; Lacroix began showing the gun and later pointed it at Joshua’s head. A single shot discharged, striking Joshua. He was airlifted to Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul and died of his injuries on November 6, 2023.

Law enforcement traced the shooting to Lacroix, who fled the scene and hid the handgun at his home. He was arrested and charged with homicide by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon; he said the shooting was an accident. In June 2024 Lacroix, then 18, was convicted of the felony charge and received five years probation, six months of jail time served on home monitoring, more than $38,000 in restitution and fines, and bans on firearm possession and contact with the Johnson family.

Does anyone who knew Joshua or the young men involved have details about that night or the events leading up to it?