Dentist shot and killed by neighbor following dispute over loud music
A Wisconsin woman faces charges in the fatal shooting of her neighbor at an apartment complex following a dispute over loud music.
Keionna McGowan, 27, was charged April 24 with second-degree reckless homicide with use of a dangerous weapon for the April 19 in Brown Deer.
According to the criminal complaint, McGowan was in her apartment doing her hair and trying on clothes while listening to music when she heard aggressive banging at her door.
McGowan told investigators that after looking through the peephole and opening the door, she saw "a large man who appeared to be intoxicated" who began yelling incoherently about the music. She told police that she felt uncomfortable due to the man's threatening behavior.
According to court documents, after telling him she would turn down the music, she closed the door. She then heard the man kicking her door with enough force to shake the apartment, leading her to believe he might break in.
McGowan retrieved a gun and reopened the door. She told officers she fired one shot when the man made a kicking motion.
Officers responding to the shots fired call found McGowan running from the building in a pink dress without shoes, yelling, "Help," and, "He's in my house, number 207." Inside, they discovered the victim, identified as Akintunde Bowden, lying face down in the doorway of apartment 207 with a gunshot wound to his lower abdomen. Despite medical assistance, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The victim's fiancée told investigators that Bowden had been home watching basketball. She said while there had been previous noise complaints about McGowan's apartment, interactions had been civil and Bowden never personally confronted the resident about the music.
An autopsy by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office determined Bowden died from a single gunshot wound that traveled through multiple organs and vertebrae.
If convicted, McGowan faces up to 25 years in prison, with the possibility of an additional five years for using a dangerous weapon. She could also face up to $100,000 in fines.