Suspect arrested, charged for allegedly firing shots at children who threw snowballs at his car

He allegedly opened fire on a group of children who threw snowballs at his car. Now a Milwaukee man could get the book thrown at him in court.

The suspected gunman, William Carson, 24, is facing a slew of charges stemming from the January incident that left two children with bullet wounds and forced residents in nearby homes to dive for cover.

Carson was charged on Sunday with two counts of first-degree reckless injury with a dangerous weapon and five counts of recklessly endangering safety with a dangerous weapon.

If convicted, he faces a maximum of 25 years in prison on each count of reckless injury and 12.5 years on each count of recklessly endangering safety, officials said.

The shooting unfolded on Jan. 4 when a group of seven children were out playing in the snow that Saturday evening and threw snowballs hitting Carson's passing car, police said.

Carson allegedly stopped and fired up to nine shots at the children, striking a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy, a criminal complaint filed against Carson alleges, according to ABC affiliate station WISN-TV in Milwaukee. A third child's jacket was grazed by a bullet, according to the complaint.

Milwaukee police investigators recovered nine spent shell casings at the scene and an analysis determined they came from a Winchester 9mm handgun, according to the complaint.

Carson was arrested on Jan. 12 following a police chase in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek, the complaint reads.

Oak Creek police discovered a gun in the glove compartment of Carson's car, the complaint reads. Ballistic tests determined it was the same weapon used in the shooting that erupted over the tossed snowballs, according to the complaint.

Carson purchased the gun 11 days before the shooting in Milwaukee, according to the complaint.

He is being held at the Milwaukee County Jail on $35,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 25.