A Wisconsin teen will spend just shy of a decade behind bars for an unintentional shooting that left a child dead, a court has determined.

In June, 19-year-old Javier Rodriguez admitted guilt to a charge of second-degree reckless homicide regarding the 2024 fatality of 10-year-old Isdennyeliz Ortiz.

On Thursday, a Milwaukee County judge sentenced Rodriguez to 10 years in prison. He will be credited for nearly 14 months served during pretrial detention. Additionally, he will undergo an eight-year period of supervised release following his prison term.

The incident occurred on May 31, 2024, at a split-level, three-story house on West Orchard Street on Milwaukee’s south side.

All of the residents of the building were related, police said.

Isdennyeliz was in her mother’s bed when a bullet entered through the ceiling around 12:40 a.m. – striking and killing her as she slept.

According to a criminal complaint accessed by Milwaukee’s Fox affiliate WITI and NBC affiliate WTMJ, the girl’s mother stated her nephew came downstairs admitting he was handling a gun when it accidentally fired.

The teenager – who was 18 years old at the time of the shooting – left before police arrived. He was arrested and charged a few days later.

Prosecutors claimed Rodriguez was on the building’s upper floor when the gun discharged, with the bullet passing through a couch cushion and continuing through the floor and ceiling of the unit where he resided. Tragically, Isdennyeliz was hit in the chest while her mother and baby brother were beside her in bed.

The complaint offers the girl’s final moments from her mother’s perspective:

Her mother recalled hearing Isdennyeliz say “ouch” before asking if she was okay and shaking her. When she received no reply, she turned on the light, discovering Isdennyeliz had been shot in the chest and was bleeding, also noticing a new bullet hole in the ceiling.

“It’s my fault,” Rodriguez said after the fatal shot was fired – addressing the girl’s mother. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

The victim’s 14-year-old sister recalled something substantially similar being said by the defendant as he bounded down the stairs and met them, according to the complaint: “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I did it.”

The defendant’s grandmother offered the following narrative:

She said she was sleeping in the basement unit with her husband when her grandson, the defendant, suddenly came into the room asking if they were OK. A couple minutes later her son, the defendant’s father, came into the room and told her that a tragedy had occurred, explaining that the defendant had been playing with a gun when it accidentally discharged and shot [Isdennyeliz].

Law enforcement identified the defendant by way of security camera footage. Immediately prior to the shooting, Rodriguez, his father, and a third person were seen outside in a parking area near an above-ground swimming pool. Police say the defendant is visibly carrying a “tan firearm” and wearing “a blue rubber glove” in the video and appears to walk inside through a back door with the third person. And then, some 44 seconds into the footage, a “loud bang” is heard.

“Footage from a clip starting at 12:45:08 shows the defendant, shirtless, frantically running back and forth through the rear area,” the complaint goes on. “His grandfather comes into camera view and the defendant says something to him before the clips stops.”

Investigators also said a shot had previously been fired within the residence – roughly a month prior to the fatal shooting. This first bullet did not strike anyone and traveled from the upper floor into the living room of the residence on the first floor, the complaint says.

Several firearms were found at the Rodriguez residence during the ensuing investigation, according to the Milwaukee Police Department.

“In a closet they found a satchel with a cross-body strap,” the complaint reads. “Inside the satchel was a loaded black 9mm Taurus semi-automatic pistol, a loaded green 9mm Taurus semi-automatic pistol, a loaded tan 9mm Springfield semi-automatic pistol, a 50-round capacity drum magazine loaded with 39 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and two loaded 10-round capacity magazines for 9mm pistols.”

Before taking a plea deal, Rodriguez faced a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.