A Milwaukee wedding shooting left two people injured after a dispute over a groomsman eating meatballs with his hands escalated into gunfire at a city banquet hall, police say. Thomas Redrick Williams, 41, now faces a charge sheet that includes two counts of first-degree reckless injury with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and bail jumping.
How a Meatball Dispute Became a Criminal Matter
The incident took place at approximately 9:45 p.m. on 20 June at the Aria banquet hall, located at 5444 West Fond du Lac Avenue in Milwaukee, according to a criminal complaint obtained by local ABC affiliate WISN.
Officers responding to the address found a man with a gunshot wound to the neck and a woman with wounds to her arm and leg. According to FOX6 Milwaukee, the two victims were aged 35 and 39.
The female victim, speaking to police from hospital, told officers she is a cousin of the bride. She said she was in the kitchen when she observed a groomsman eating meatballs with his hands and asked him to use a plate. He responded by punching her, the affidavit reportedly states.
That confrontation set off a wider skirmish. Witnesses identified Williams as a friend of the groomsman concerned. He is alleged to have produced a firearm and opened fire, injuring both victims.
The Bride’s Intervention and the Arrest Warrant
After the shooting, Williams ran towards his SUV in an attempt to leave the scene. The bride, however, told police she had seen him walk out of the kitchen carrying a gun and followed him. When he tried to drive away, she wrestled his key fob from him, preventing the vehicle from starting, per the affidavit.
Williams abandoned the SUV and fled on foot. The bride, who told officers she knew him by the nickname ‘Boog’, subsequently identified him in a police photo line-up. Two other witnesses also identified Williams as the alleged shooter in the same line-up.
An arrest warrant was issued for Williams on 25 June 2026, according to court records reported by FOX6 Milwaukee.
One detail adds a layer of context to the evening’s events. A woman who told FOX6 she had previously held her own wedding at the Aria Business Center said alcohol is not permitted at the venue. Whether that policy was observed on the night in question has not been confirmed in the complaint.
Williams’s charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon indicates a prior criminal record, a fact that will bear on any sentencing proceedings should he be convicted. The bail jumping count suggests he was already subject to a court order at the time of the alleged offence.
Under Wisconsin law, first-degree reckless injury with a dangerous weapon carries a potential custodial sentence. The Wisconsin court system has not yet published hearing dates in the public record, and it is not clear from available information whether Williams had retained legal representation as of the warrant’s issue.
The Milwaukee Police Department has not issued a further public statement on the suspect’s whereabouts. Subject to any additional charges or evidence emerging, the case turns substantially on the photo line-up identifications made by the bride and two other witnesses, making the credibility of those identifications a likely focus of any defence at trial.
