Background: Law enforcement officers investigate after a shooting at a strip mall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (WISN/YouTube). Inset left: Bre'nee Veasley (GoFundMe). Inset right: Earl Williams III (Milwaukee County Jail).
A teen in Wisconsin will spend years behind bars after an aspiring nurse died in a "wild west-style shootout" at a strip mall after a party.
Earl Williams III, 18, has been ordered to serve 12 years in prison followed by eight years of extended supervision, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime. He was given credit for nearly a year of time served.
The defendant pleaded guilty in May to felony murder in the death of 19-year-old Bre'nee Veasley.
On the night of June 20, 2025, a crowd of people was at a strip mall outside a party on the 8200 block of West Brown Deer Road in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A witness there said Veasley walked outside at one point, and a man could be seen wearing a ski mask and holding a gun, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit.
The witness told investigators she asked the man to put the gun away because it was "scaring her." Moments later, the masked person reportedly opened fire, starting the shootout. The witness reportedly ducked under some cars and later saw that Veasley had been shot.
Williams was apparently the person in the mask, and he showed up with two other people. He reportedly said that he started shooting because he believed there were rival gang members with guns in the parking lot, and they are accused of driving him away from the scene and then spray-painting a Chevy Malibu.
Police arrived at the scene at about 11 p.m. that night, and investigators determined shots were "clustered" in three different areas "indicating a wild west-style shootout." Williams had a gun with a "switch" on it that makes a semi-automatic firearm automatic.
A total of 110 bullets were fired from 11 different firearms — all in 20 seconds, authorities said.
As Law&Crime previously reported, cops did not believe Williams fired the shots that killed Veasley, but they maintained that he caused the death by opening fire, starting the shootout.
Williams' two co-defendants — Isiah Daniels and Jardan Anderson — are both charged with harboring or aiding a felon. They are expected in court on separate days next week.
According to a GoFundMe set up for Veasley, she was going to college to become a nurse.
"A 19-year-old with her whole life ahead of her. A college student. A nurse, taken the night before her first day saving lives. A peacemaker. A light in our family," the fundraiser said. "A 4.0 GPA her entire scholastic career. She did everything right—and still, this city failed to protect her. Bre wasn't in the streets. She wasn't in trouble. She was simply trying to enjoy her time out of school at a teen party. But because of fragile egos, poor conflict resolution, and unchecked violence, she never made it home."
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