MILWAUKEE — MILWAUKEE -- A Menasha man has been charged in the accidental shooting death of a 3-year-old in Milwaukee last weekend.
Cire Walker, 3, shot and killed himself late Saturday evening in the Merrill Park neighborhood.
26-year-old Devon L. Armour faces four criminal charges, the most serious being second-degree reckless homicide, according to a criminal complaint released Wednesday.
Armour's other charges include possession of a firearm by a felon, and two charges of bail jumping. If convicted of all charges, he faces up to 65 years in prison.
Police say the 3-year-old Walker got a hold of a firearm and unintentionally shot himself. Walker later died from his injuries.
The family of Walker spoke for the very first time since the tragic shooting with TMJ4's Taylor Lumpkin. Walker's aunt, great aunt, and brother say they're absolutely devastated, and never thought something like this would happen to their family.
Now they want people to know who Walker was and to make sure he's never forgotten. They say Walker lit up every room he walked into and was outgoing. His favorite show was Paw Patrol, and his smile could make their day better in an instant.
Walker's older brother, Messiah, says he's going to miss having his best friend around.
When it comes to Armour, the family did not want to comment, but they do say they want others to learn from this incident, to make sure no other family has to go through something like this.
"It's been hard trying to console my sister the best way we can. It's just, that's her baby boy. We're taking it minute by minute, day by day," said Thomacia Anderson, Walker's aunt.
This is 3-year-old Cire Walker. He accidentally shot and killed himself over the weekend after a family member left his gun on a kitchen table. Tonight at 5, we hear from Cire’s family for the first time since the shooting, and how they’re handling this tragic loss @tmj4 pic.twitter.com/uROM7Jxsvq
— Taylor Lumpkin (@TaylorLumpkinTV) May 12, 2021
"Cire was like my little best friend. He always would wake me up happy and I would be late to school and he will be like, 'Wake up Messiah, wake up.' He would just pull my leg," said Walker's older brother, Messiah Walker.
"I just ask people that if you are an owner of a firearm, just make sure that you are very responsible for it and keep it locked in a lockbox if you have kids around," said Walker's great aunt, Sherika Motley.
Santa Medina, a certified medical assistant, happened to be visiting her daughter, who lived right next door to the house where the incident occurred during moments shots were fired.
Shocked at what she heard, she said she then saw a gentleman who is said to be the uncle of the late 3-year-old boy rush out asking for help.
"He was like 'can you please come help' and I was like 'is he OK' and he was like 'my nephew shot himself,'" said Medina, who immediately rushed into action.
During these moments, Medina says the mother was incredibly distraught.
"I can still hear her screaming, so I just hope it's a lesson learned for everybody," said Medina.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley urged people to be diligent with where they keep their firearms.
"As a parent myself of a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old daughter, if you have a gun legally, it is extremely important that you do everything in your power to make sure that your child does not have access to that gun," Crowley said.
Walker's family says they are planning on having a funeral for Cire in the coming days.
