Prosecutors charge Robbiel Stokes, 15, in Milwaukee bus stop killing

Prosecutors in Milwaukee have charged a 15-year-old as an adult with first-degree intentional homicide in the killing of a 16-year-old classmate who was shot after the two got off a county bus on the city's south side. Robbiel L. Stokes is accused of killing Camron Bowen, who collapsed in the street near Layton Boulevard and Greenfield Avenue on Saturday, Sept. 19, and died there. Stokes has not been arrested.

I just want this child to turn himself in, that is it. Just hold yourself accountable because you're not going to get far. They are going to find you.

The charge was filed Friday, Sept. 25, and a warrant was issued for Stokes' arrest. He was still at large a week after the shooting. CBS 58 reported the single count against him is first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon. FOX6 News said no booking photo of Stokes has been released because he remains wanted.

What prosecutors say happened on the bus

Bowen boarded a Milwaukee County Transit System bus first, and Stokes got on about 10 minutes later and sat next to him, prosecutors said in the account reported by FOX6 News. The two ended up near each other toward the rear of the bus, and their conversation appeared to become heated, the criminal complaint says. Surveillance video from inside the bus shows Bowen standing behind Stokes, who was wearing a black hoodie and carrying a backpack, WISN reported.

Both teenagers stepped off through the rear doors when the bus stopped. Stokes got behind Bowen as they exited, then pulled a handgun from his sweatshirt pocket and began firing as Bowen ran, the complaint says. They got off on Layton Boulevard, between National and Greenfield avenues.

Witnesses told investigators that Bowen ran in front of the bus while the shooter chased him, still firing. He collapsed in the roadway and died at the scene of multiple gunshot wounds. The medical examiner found six gunshot wounds, TMJ4 reported, citing the complaint. Law and Crime reported that prosecutors put six seconds between the two teenagers stepping off the bus and the shooting.

Bowen grew up on Milwaukee's south side and attended Bay View High School. He had turned 16 three days before he was killed, and relatives said he loved anime and wanted to go to college to study tech. His mother, Jennifer Cassidy, told FOX6 News: "He was a good kid. He had a big heart. He was loved. He stood up for what he believed in."

We don't get to see him walk across a stage and graduate. It is not right to us.

Family and friends gathered Saturday for a walk in Bowen's honor, calling for justice and an end to gun violence, TMJ4 reported. Cassidy said the gathering was about honoring her son and making sure his death is not forgotten. The family held a vigil the day after the shooting, where relatives urged teenagers to put down their guns, according to FOX6 News. A GoFundMe fundraiser was created to help cover funeral expenses.

How investigators identified the suspect

Stokes called his mother shortly after the shooting and asked for a ride near 35th Street, FOX6 News reported, citing the complaint. She told authorities he appeared nervous, was wearing different clothes and was soaking wet from the rain when she picked him up. The call came minutes after police were dispatched to the scene, according to TMJ4's account of the complaint.

Investigators later showed her still images taken from the transit system's bus cameras. She positively identified her son as the shooter in those stills, FOX6 News reported.

• Bus surveillance video showing the argument and the shooting
• Still images from the bus used by Stokes' mother to identify him
• A .40-caliber cartridge found on the rear floorboard of her car
• A friend who was on a video call with Bowen moments before the gunfire
• School staff who described a fight between the two on Sept. 16

A search of the mother's vehicle turned up a .40-caliber cartridge on the rear floorboard. It was the same brand and caliber as the casings recovered at the shooting scene, according to the complaint. Police searched the car after interviewing her, FOX6 News reported.

The conflict between the two teenagers began at Bay View High School on Sept. 16, three days before the shooting, according to the complaint. Investigators contacted school staff members, who told them Bowen and Stokes had fought days earlier, CBS 58 reported. School officials identified Stokes as the student involved in that earlier altercation.

A friend of Bowen's told investigators he was on a video call with him just before the gunfire and heard arguing in the background, according to WISN. The friend said Bowen had recently been suspended after confronting another student over a stolen item.

Where the case stands

Stokes, of Milwaukee, is charged in adult court and had not been taken into custody as of Sunday, when WISN reported he remained on the run. Prosecutors filed the case last week, and the account of the shooting comes from the criminal complaint and court records, according to FOX6 News.

Cassidy told FOX6 News at a memorial on Sept. 20, the day after the shooting, that her son was shot seven times in what she described as an ambush. The complaint puts the number of gunshot wounds at six. She said Bowen had been bullied and was sticking up for himself and some friends.

Milwaukee teenager still wanted in classmate's killing

Stokes, 15, is wanted on a first-degree intentional homicide charge in the death of Bowen, 16, a classmate at Bay View High School. Prosecutors say he followed Bowen off a Milwaukee County bus on Sept. 19 near Layton Boulevard and Greenfield Avenue and shot him as he tried to get away. The complaint traces the shooting to a fight at the school three days earlier.

A mother's plea for accountability

Cassidy said she was relieved to learn who investigators were looking for and frustrated that he has not been caught. "I'm happy that I know who it is. I'm happy that I know it was exactly what I suspected. It is just hard because he is not caught yet. I just don't want this happening to anybody else," she told TMJ4.

Much of Cassidy's appeal has been aimed at other parents. "I feel like these kids need to put these guns down. You don't even have a driver's license yet. Why do you have a gun?" she told FOX6 News. Speaking to TMJ4, she said she feels sympathy for Stokes' mother, who she said is going to lose her son in a different way.

"My son deserves justice," Cassidy told WISN at the weekend gathering. "My son deserves to know that his mom is his voice, and I am going to be his voice for this." She told TMJ4 she intends to keep pushing for changes on bullying and gun violence.

Police ask public for information

The arrest warrant for Stokes was still outstanding over the weekend. Anyone with information is asked to call the Milwaukee Police Department or Milwaukee Crime Stoppers, according to TMJ4.

Bowen's family marked one week since the shooting on Saturday, gathering again to remember him and to press for an arrest. Cassidy told WISN her aim has not changed: "I want justice for my child. So, I can get closure as his mother."