Prosecutors say an argument between children escalated into a shooting, a search for the victim and a high-speed police chase.
MILWAUKEE — A 33-year-old Milwaukee woman faces 22 criminal charges after prosecutors accused her of searching for and shooting a 12-year-old boy during a dispute involving children who sold bottled water along neighborhood streets.
Cosetta Burrell appeared in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on Wednesday, five days after the July 17 shooting near North 60th Street and West Silver Spring Drive. A court commissioner set her bond at $100,000. The charges also relate to allegations that she fired toward the boy’s brother, struck an occupied house and later led law enforcement officers on a nearly six-mile pursuit with four children in her vehicle.
Prosecutors said the conflict began between two groups of children competing over places to sell water bottles. Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Mallory Davis told the court that the dispute involved what she described as “water-bottle-selling-turf.” Authorities allege Burrell then joined the conflict and drove through the neighborhood with her girlfriend and other children while looking for the 12-year-old.
Court filings accuse Burrell of finding the boy and shooting him. Prosecutors also said she fired at his brother and that another shot hit a nearby home occupied by several people, including a 2-month-old child. The supplied court account did not provide details about the boy’s medical condition or indicate that anyone inside the house was struck.
The case centers on allegations contained in a criminal complaint, and Burrell has not been convicted of the new charges. The full list of the 22 counts was not detailed in the available reporting. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Commissioner Barry Phillips said during the hearing that the complaint contained an unusually broad set of allegations.
“There’s so much stuff going on in this complaint,” Phillips said.
The allegations expanded beyond the shooting after automated license plate-reading cameras identified the suspected vehicle, prosecutors said. Deputies later tried to stop it, but Burrell allegedly drove away and reached speeds above 80 mph during a pursuit that continued for almost six miles.
Four children, including Burrell’s son, were inside the vehicle during the chase, according to prosecutors. The available account did not state whether the children were injured or explain how the pursuit ended. The chase and the alleged presence of children account for part of the wider criminal case now pending against Burrell.
Davis told the court that Burrell had been released from prison 11 days before the shooting following a child abuse conviction. The prosecutor said the victim in that earlier case is also among the victims identified in the new case. Prosecutors further said Burrell was prohibited from possessing a firearm and was awaiting trial in another felony matter.
Defense attorney Isabella Jimenez told the court that Burrell understood the seriousness of the allegations and intended to attend future hearings. Jimenez also addressed Burrell’s failure to appear in the other pending case on July 17, saying Burrell reported that she was already in custody at the time.
Burrell remained subject to the $100,000 bond set Wednesday. She is expected to return to court next week as the case proceeds, though the available reporting did not provide an exact hearing date.
Author note: Last updated July 23, 2026.