A Milwaukee man expressed remorse after reportedly killing a one-year-old girl.
Davon Chapman was charged Friday with first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon after he allegedly shot a young Zy’Aire Nevels the night of June 3, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Chapman reportedly fired shots at the car the child was a passenger in, following her parents’ vehicle in his SUV, according to the outlet.
The shooting occurred near the 1900 block of West Atkinson Avenue by the Milwaukee Public Library Atkinson Branch.
The suspect allegedly knew the victim’s family: Chapman is the husband of Zy’Aire’s mother’s best friend.
The criminal complaint claims Chapman and Zy’Aire’s mother were talking prior to the shooting, but does not elaborate on the content of their communication. (RELATED: 1-Year-Old Shot Twice In The Shoulder And Cheek By 6-Year-Old Brother)
Zy’Aire’s father, reportedly at the wheel of the Nevels family’s car, attempted to escape Chapman, who allegedly continued to chase their vehicle through a red light.
After crossing West Capital Drive, Zy’Aire’s father reportedly saw flashes and heard gunshots.
“I went to the other side and I opened the door and I instantly started screaming and crying,” Zhane Brown, Zy’Aire’s mother, said to TMJ4 News.
He drove his daughter to the nearby Milwaukee Fire Department, who then had Zy’Aire transported to Children’s Hospital, where she died.
“I killed a kid. I got kids. I wasn’t trying to do that,” Chapman reportedly said to his mother on the phone 45 minutes after the shooting, according to the complaint. “Ma I messed up.”
The suspect was arrested Sunday and made his first court appearance Friday morning at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
Zy’Aire’s mother created a GoFundMe fundraiser in her daughter’s memory. The young girl would have turned two-years-old on June 10.
