News footage of Cosetta Burrell in court (WITI).
A Wisconsin mother allegedly took her son’s beef with another child several steps too far.
Cosetta Burrell, 33, faces numerous charges in connection with the shooting of a 12-year-old boy who was injured on July 17. According to a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, the boy was allegedly shot in the leg by Burrell, who police said pulled over to him in an SUV, pulled a gun out of her glove compartment, got out of the vehicle, and told him, “We going to do this.” Burrell then allegedly fired one shot at the boy and he ran away. She allegedly fired again, hitting the boy in the leg.
Police said the boy was able to run into an alley and back home, where he found his parents, who took him straight to the hospital.
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Detectives from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office spoke to the boy’s parents, who explained that their son sold water bottles at a location near their apartment to make extra money. A witness who was at the boy’s family’s home told police that he saw a group of children selling water at the same median where the boy’s mother said her son regularly sold water. The witness told police that he informed the boy about what he saw, then the boy left the house and “sprinted” to the median.
According to the complaint, the witness saw the boy “[run] the kids off” the median and take the cooler, which he “started to damage” until the witness told the boy to stop and come back home. The boy complied, but went back to the median with another boy. The witness told police he saw a white Nissan Pathfinder pull up and a woman got out after a “brief interaction.” After the woman allegedly fired five to six shots, she yelled, “I should’ve killed your a—!” after getting back in the SUV and driving away.
The witness told police he saw about five children in the back of the SUV.
Around 7:30 p.m. the same day, police found the white Nissan Pathfinder and attempted to pull the driver, later identified as Burrell, over. After Burrell allegedly continued driving, she ran a stop sign and sped away.
When police finally stopped Burrell’s vehicle, she allegedly swerved toward a Milwaukee police officer who was deploying stop sticks on the ground. Police said Burrell led them on a high-speed chase for 5.7 miles that reached 83 mph while her four children and another male passenger were in the car. According to the complaint, “[a]ll of the children were crying and visibly shaking” while they were being taken out of the vehicle.
Police said the SUV had been reported stolen earlier by Burrell’s friend.
Burrell was taken into custody and agreed to speak with police. According to the complaint, Burrell told police that her son was being bullied by the victim because of where her son was selling water and juice. When her son called her and said the victim had broken his cooler, she wanted to “confront” the victim. Burrell, who told police the gun belonged to her girlfriend, got into the SUV with her children and drove to the median. She said she planned to “knock out” the 12-year-old boy, and fired at the boy’s feet because she was “trying to scare him, not kill him.”
Police said Burrell also denied trying to hit the police officer with the SUV, explaining that she was in “GTA mode” during the alleged pursuit. She reportedly said, “[Y]eah, he was there, but, you know, I’m a good driver.”
According to the complaint, Burrell expressed regret for the alleged shooting during phone calls recorded while she was in jail, saying, “I should have just punched him.” But she also reportedly said she was just trying to help her son and his friends “get their motherf—ing money.” She also reportedly stated that she “had to get rid of s—,” referring to the gun she allegedly threw out the window of the SUV.Â
Police said Burrell also stated, “This ain’t your corner… I don’t know who the f— raised you, but they raised you wrong, didn’t raise you right. I’m finna show you right.” Burrell also reportedly bragged during a later call that she was a “hero” and “the entire community agrees.”
During her first court hearing, which was covered by local Fox affiliate WITI, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Commissioner Barry Phillips told Burrell, “Nobody in the community, nobody in the hood, thinks that somebody that shoots a 12-year-old kid is a hero. You are not a hero. If you did this, you’re a zero.”
Burrell, who has several prior convictions for child abuse, was charged with 18 felonies and four misdemeanors including reckless injury, child abuse, reckless endangerment, and child neglect. She is being held at the Milwaukee County Jail on $100,000 bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for July 28.
The post Woman shot 12-year-old boy over water bottle turf war he was having with her son then told friends she was a ‘hero’: Prosecutors first appeared on Law & Crime.
