Topline: According to court records, the 8-year-old girl called the women and said she was bleeding after a 4-year-old boy allegedly shot her with a gun found inside the apartment.
Published: June 17, 2026 7:18 am ET
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MILWAUKEE, WI — The second of two Milwaukee women charged after a 4-year-old boy shot an 8-year-old girl inside an apartment where several children had been left alone has been sentenced to probation.
According to Milwaukee County court records cited by WITI-TV, 24-year-old Vanta’jah Westmoreland pleaded guilty Friday to three misdemeanor counts of child neglect. A felony charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Court records show Judge Anderson Gansner sentenced Westmoreland to two years of probation. According to WITI, conditions of her probation include maintaining absolute sobriety and not possessing any firearms.
The sentencing marks the conclusion of criminal cases against both women charged in connection with the November 2024 shooting. According to Seehafer News, 29-year-old Nakia Piggee previously pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor child neglect charges and was sentenced to two years of probation in April 2025. A felony count and a third misdemeanor charge were dismissed as part of her plea agreement, WITI reported.
Prosecutors alleged the shooting occurred on Nov. 8, 2024, after Piggee and Westmoreland left four children unattended inside an apartment near North 75th Street and West Brown Deer Road, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WITI.
Court filings cited by the station state that an 8-year-old girl, a 4-year-old boy, another 8-year-old child, and a 2-year-old child were inside the apartment when the shooting happened.
According to prosecutors, Piggee and Westmoreland had been supervising the children but left the apartment for approximately 40 minutes. Investigators said the women returned only after the wounded 8-year-old called and reported that she was bleeding, according to the complaint.
When officers asked who shot her, the girl identified the 4-year-old boy, prosecutors said. According to the complaint, the child told investigators she knew a handgun was kept beneath a mattress in a bedroom. She said the boy retrieved the firearm, it discharged, and he then returned it under the bed.
Investigators later learned the 4-year-old had been dropped off to be babysat only minutes before the women left the apartment, according to court documents cited by WITI.
Prosecutors also described troubling conditions inside the residence. According to the criminal complaint, the apartment was “filthy and littered with food, dirty clothes, cigarettes’ ashes and plastic bottles.” The bedroom where the shooting occurred was allegedly cluttered with liquor bottles, ashes, ashtrays and diapers.
Investigators did not locate any firearm safety devices, including a gun lock or gun safe, anywhere in the apartment, according to the complaint.
Police also found a severely disabled 2-year-old child in a crib inside the bedroom, court records show. According to the complaint, officers recovered a spent shell casing between the crib and a mattress. A blood-stained T-shirt with what appeared to be a bullet hole and a bloody blanket were also found on the floor.
According to prosecutors, Piggee initially told investigators she had left to buy groceries and did not know how the children could have obtained a firearm. However, the complaint states she later acknowledged knowing a gun was inside the apartment and said she had simply forgotten it was there.
Westmoreland also spoke with investigators after the shooting. According to prosecutors, she told police that a 16-year-old boy removed the gun from the apartment afterward “so no one would get in trouble.”
The criminal complaint further states that a neighboring resident told officers she heard about the gunshot and went to check on the situation. According to her account, Westmoreland handed her a handgun wrapped in sweatpants. The firearm was then placed into a 16-year-old’s backpack, where police later recovered it still wrapped in the clothing.
According to Seehafer News and court records, both women ultimately received probation sentences after pleading guilty to misdemeanor child neglect charges stemming from the case.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Woman Gets Probation After 4-Year-Old Shot 8-Year-Old While Left Home Alone
According to court records, the 8-year-old girl called the women and said she was bleeding after a 4-year-old boy allegedly shot her with a gun found inside the apartment.
By Jacob Charles
Published: June 17, 2026 7:18 am ET
MILWAUKEE, WI — The second of two Milwaukee women charged after a 4-year-old boy shot an 8-year-old girl inside an apartment where several children had been left alone has been sentenced to probation.
According to Milwaukee County court records cited by WITI-TV, 24-year-old Vanta’jah Westmoreland pleaded guilty Friday to three misdemeanor counts of child neglect. A felony charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Court records show Judge Anderson Gansner sentenced Westmoreland to two years of probation. According to WITI, conditions of her probation include maintaining absolute sobriety and not possessing any firearms.
The sentencing marks the conclusion of criminal cases against both women charged in connection with the November 2024 shooting. According to Seehafer News, 29-year-old Nakia Piggee previously pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor child neglect charges and was sentenced to two years of probation in April 2025. A felony count and a third misdemeanor charge were dismissed as part of her plea agreement, WITI reported.
Prosecutors alleged the shooting occurred on Nov. 8, 2024, after Piggee and Westmoreland left four children unattended inside an apartment near North 75th Street and West Brown Deer Road, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WITI.
Court filings cited by the station state that an 8-year-old girl, a 4-year-old boy, another 8-year-old child, and a 2-year-old child were inside the apartment when the shooting happened.
According to prosecutors, Piggee and Westmoreland had been supervising the children but left the apartment for approximately 40 minutes. Investigators said the women returned only after the wounded 8-year-old called and reported that she was bleeding, according to the complaint.
When officers asked who shot her, the girl identified the 4-year-old boy, prosecutors said. According to the complaint, the child told investigators she knew a handgun was kept beneath a mattress in a bedroom. She said the boy retrieved the firearm, it discharged, and he then returned it under the bed.
Investigators later learned the 4-year-old had been dropped off to be babysat only minutes before the women left the apartment, according to court documents cited by WITI.
Prosecutors also described troubling conditions inside the residence. According to the criminal complaint, the apartment was “filthy and littered with food, dirty clothes, cigarettes’ ashes and plastic bottles.” The bedroom where the shooting occurred was allegedly cluttered with liquor bottles, ashes, ashtrays and diapers.
Investigators did not locate any firearm safety devices, including a gun lock or gun safe, anywhere in the apartment, according to the complaint.
Police also found a severely disabled 2-year-old child in a crib inside the bedroom, court records show. According to the complaint, officers recovered a spent shell casing between the crib and a mattress. A blood-stained T-shirt with what appeared to be a bullet hole and a bloody blanket were also found on the floor.
According to prosecutors, Piggee initially told investigators she had left to buy groceries and did not know how the children could have obtained a firearm. However, the complaint states she later acknowledged knowing a gun was inside the apartment and said she had simply forgotten it was there.
Westmoreland also spoke with investigators after the shooting. According to prosecutors, she told police that a 16-year-old boy removed the gun from the apartment afterward “so no one would get in trouble.”
The criminal complaint further states that a neighboring resident told officers she heard about the gunshot and went to check on the situation. According to her account, Westmoreland handed her a handgun wrapped in sweatpants. The firearm was then placed into a 16-year-old’s backpack, where police later recovered it still wrapped in the clothing.
According to Seehafer News and court records, both women ultimately received probation sentences after pleading guilty to misdemeanor child neglect charges stemming from the case.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Woman Gets Probation After 4-Year-Old Shot 8-Year-Old While Left Home Alone
According to court records, the 8-year-old girl called the women and said she was bleeding after a 4-year-old boy allegedly shot her with a gun found inside the apartment.
By Jacob Charles
Published: June 17, 2026 7:18 am ET
MILWAUKEE, WI — The second of two Milwaukee women charged after a 4-year-old boy shot an 8-year-old girl inside an apartment where several children had been left alone has been sentenced to probation.
According to Milwaukee County court records cited by WITI-TV, 24-year-old Vanta’jah Westmoreland pleaded guilty Friday to three misdemeanor counts of child neglect. A felony charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Court records show Judge Anderson Gansner sentenced Westmoreland to two years of probation. According to WITI, conditions of her probation include maintaining absolute sobriety and not possessing any firearms.
The sentencing marks the conclusion of criminal cases against both women charged in connection with the November 2024 shooting. According to Seehafer News, 29-year-old Nakia Piggee previously pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor child neglect charges and was sentenced to two years of probation in April 2025. A felony count and a third misdemeanor charge were dismissed as part of her plea agreement, WITI reported.
Prosecutors alleged the shooting occurred on Nov. 8, 2024, after Piggee and Westmoreland left four children unattended inside an apartment near North 75th Street and West Brown Deer Road, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WITI.
Court filings cited by the station state that an 8-year-old girl, a 4-year-old boy, another 8-year-old child, and a 2-year-old child were inside the apartment when the shooting happened.
According to prosecutors, Piggee and Westmoreland had been supervising the children but left the apartment for approximately 40 minutes. Investigators said the women returned only after the wounded 8-year-old called and reported that she was bleeding, according to the complaint.
When officers asked who shot her, the girl identified the 4-year-old boy, prosecutors said. According to the complaint, the child told investigators she knew a handgun was kept beneath a mattress in a bedroom. She said the boy retrieved the firearm, it discharged, and he then returned it under the bed.
Investigators later learned the 4-year-old had been dropped off to be babysat only minutes before the women left the apartment, according to court documents cited by WITI.
Prosecutors also described troubling conditions inside the residence. According to the criminal complaint, the apartment was “filthy and littered with food, dirty clothes, cigarettes’ ashes and plastic bottles.” The bedroom where the shooting occurred was allegedly cluttered with liquor bottles, ashes, ashtrays and diapers.
Investigators did not locate any firearm safety devices, including a gun lock or gun safe, anywhere in the apartment, according to the complaint.
Police also found a severely disabled 2-year-old child in a crib inside the bedroom, court records show. According to the complaint, officers recovered a spent shell casing between the crib and a mattress. A blood-stained T-shirt with what appeared to be a bullet hole and a bloody blanket were also found on the floor.
According to prosecutors, Piggee initially told investigators she had left to buy groceries and did not know how the children could have obtained a firearm. However, the complaint states she later acknowledged knowing a gun was inside the apartment and said she had simply forgotten it was there.
Westmoreland also spoke with investigators after the shooting. According to prosecutors, she told police that a 16-year-old boy removed the gun from the apartment afterward “so no one would get in trouble.”
The criminal complaint further states that a neighboring resident told officers she heard about the gunshot and went to check on the situation. According to her account, Westmoreland handed her a handgun wrapped in sweatpants. The firearm was then placed into a 16-year-old’s backpack, where police later recovered it still wrapped in the clothing.
According to Seehafer News and court records, both women ultimately received probation sentences after pleading guilty to misdemeanor child neglect charges stemming from the case.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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