MILWAUKEE — A woman has been charged in connection with the death of a prominent Milwaukee dentist found fatally shot on April 19.
Keionna McGowan, 27, faces one count of second-degree reckless homicide after allegedly shooting and killing 41-year-old Dr. Akintunde Bowden, who she said was aggressively kicking her door, according to a criminal complaint filed April 24.
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Police responded to Park Plaza Court around 11 p.m. on Saturday, April 19, following reports of gunfire. Officers found Bowden lying face down in the entryway of McGowan’s apartment. He was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy confirmed he died of a single gunshot wound to the lower abdomen.
McGowan told police that before the shooting, she was listening to music, trying on clothes, and doing her hair. That’s when she said she heard aggressive banging at the door from Bowden, who lived in the apartment below hers.
Watch: Woman charged in deadly shooting of prominent Milwaukee dentist
When she opened the door, she told police, she was met by “a large man who appeared to be intoxicated” and who yelled at her to turn the music down.
She said she agreed to lower the volume, closed the door and walked away — but Bowden allegedly continued to kick the door with “enough force to shake her apartment.”
McGowan said she then grabbed her gun and reopened the door. As she did, Bowden made a kicking motion, and she fired, striking him once.
Later that night, Bowden’s fiancée told police he had been watching a basketball game at home.
Asked whether there had been previous issues with the neighbors, the fiancée said McGowan sometimes played music too loudly, but Bowden had never confronted her. She said she would usually be the one to ask McGowan to turn it down.
She described their interactions with McGowan as civil and said Bowden wasn’t someone who lost his temper. She also said he didn’t need to be up early the next day.
Bowden was the director of dental services at Milwaukee Health Services, Inc., and received a Black Excellence Award in 2022 for his work with underserved patients.
McGowan made her initial court appearance April 24 at 8:30 a.m. She could face up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000, with an additional five years for the weapon charge if convicted, according to the complaint.
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