MILWAUKEE — A 21-year-old man has been charged in a deadly Milwaukee shooting that killed 21-year-old Hunter C Nachriener, on Monday, May 27.
John D Huff, 21, is facing the following charges:
Count 1: Homicide by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon, explosives or fire.
Huff told investigators he accidentally discharged a gun, shooting Hunter, when he was "trying to take it apart," according to a criminal complaint from the Milwaukee Police Department.
The shooting
Officers were dispatched to Humboldt & Center for reports of a shooting around 8:27 p.m. on Monday, May 27.
When officers arrived, they say they noticed a crowd gathered around a gray vehicle.
The officers ran over to assist the shooting victim, who was later identified as 21-year-old Hunter C. Nachriener. He was lying on the ground on his side. Officers say there was blood on the driver's seat of the car.
They also observed one person, later identified as John Huff, the man charged with Nachriener's homicide, plugging a bullet hole in Nachriener's body.
Another person was holding Nachriener's head.
Officers spoke to a woman who identified Huff as the shooter.
Investigation
Officers attempted CPR, but Nachriener was later pronounced dead. It was determined later that he had been shot in the back.
When asked what happened, Huff told officers he didn't know he had a bullet in the chamber of his gun, and that he was taking the top slide off of his firearm and accidentally discharged the gun.
Huff would later tell investigators on May 28 that he was trying to take the gun apart.
"I was just an idiot. I was trying to take it apart. I usually don’t carry a round in the chamber, and so I pulled the slide back, locked it back, and I didn’t take the mag out, that was my problem," Huff said. "And then I put the slide forward and I was like aiming down, but I didn’t expect there to be a round in the chamber, and, cause you have to pull the trigger for the slide to go forward and off the weapon. And then I heard the sound and we were all like freaking out. I wasn’t really sure what happened at first. And then Hunter started screaming, so we pulled over."
Despite this, when asked if he knew about weapon safety rules, he stated "Don’t point your gun at anything you don’t intend to destroy, and always treat your weapon like it’s loaded.”
If convicted, Huff could be fined up to $25,000, and imprisoned for up to ten years.
He is scheduled for an initial court appearance on Friday, May 31 at 8:30 a.m.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
