On the evening of February 5, 2014, 17-year-old Precise Martin, a Black male, was found in a second-floor bedroom of a residence on the 3200 block of North 1st Street in Milwaukee with a single gunshot wound to the chest. Police arrived about 10:15 p.m.; life-saving measures were attempted but Martin died and the medical examiner ruled the cause of death a gunshot wound.

Witnesses and the criminal complaint say Martin had been in the bedroom with 21-year-old Emmanuel Richards and at least one other person when they were reportedly handling an AR-15 and “dry firing” it at one another. The complaint alleges Richards took the rifle from Martin and a shot was fired. Richards’ fingerprints were said to be on the rifle, which officers recovered in a basement bathroom; it was loaded with nine rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber.

Richards fled after the shooting and was found hiding in a kitchen pantry in a rear cottage. He told investigators he and Martin had been wrestling and poking at one another with the rifle and that he did not believe the weapon was real, though the owner had warned him it was. Richards was charged with homicide by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon. Does anyone have information about who else was present that night or additional details about the rifle’s ownership?