A 16-year-old boy faces a first-degree intentional homicide charge after Racine County prosecutors accused him of killing another teenager during an Oct. 4 confrontation at Lockwood Park in Racine, Wisconsin. The defendant, who also faces a misdemeanor gun possession charge, appeared in court Thursday. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19.
Samarion Campbell, 17, suffered a gunshot wound to the back and died at a hospital, according to a criminal complaint. Police later located the 16-year-old several blocks south of the park, also wounded by gunfire. He is charged as an adult but is being held in juvenile detention. FOX6 News Milwaukee withheld his name, citing his detention status and the possibility that he was also a shooting victim.
One witness told investigators that a group of friends first attended a party at a roller rink, where Campbell became involved in an argument. The party ended fewer than 10 minutes after the group arrived, and they moved to another party at Lockwood Park. According to the witness's account in court filings, someone confronted Campbell there, struck him and knocked him down before other boys joined the assault.
That witness said she was attempting to pull the boys apart when she heard a warning that someone had a gun. She did not see who was armed. After running away and hearing shots, she called 911 and saw people assisting Campbell as he lay on the ground.
A second witness told police the group had spent about an hour at the park before someone tried to fight Campbell. The witness said several people attacked Campbell and that he intervened to help him. According to court filings, this witness identified the 16-year-old as the person who approached with a gun and shot Campbell in the back.
The second witness said the defendant was associated with the attackers but had not participated in their assault on Campbell. He also described previous personal problems between the two teenagers. Although he said the defendant was shot as well, he did not know how that happened and had seen no one else carrying a gun.
During a hospital interview, the defendant initially denied involvement in the altercation, knowing Campbell or possessing a gun, the complaint said. Investigators then showed him an image from a video recorded that night. It depicted an armed person wearing the same clothing he had worn upon arriving at the hospital. Court filings said monitoring equipment registered a significant rise in his heart rate.
The defendant later acknowledged being the person in the video and apologized for lying, according to the complaint. He told investigators he had been protecting a friend and intended to fire one round to end the fight, without hitting anyone. Court filings said the video showed no active fighting when the shot was fired and that investigators did not believe the friend was anywhere near Campbell.
The defendant said he did not know his shot had struck Campbell or what became of the gun. He described his own shooter as a man with dreadlocks in a car parked across multiple spaces at the park. Police information and court filings do not establish how the defendant sustained his gunshot wound.
