Gunshot victim, 11, battles injuries as metro-east community fights with fear

A long recovery remains ahead for an 11-year-old boy who was shot in the head while riding his bicycle through a Cahokia Heights neighborhood on July 21.

Tray “Tray-Tray” Millender remains in a St. Louis Hospital in critical condition, say members of his family. He is breathing on his own and, when he opens his eyes, he recognizes Nona Owens, his great-grandmother.

“He still has a neck brace on and doctors are keeping him very still. They don’t know what kind of damage the bullet caused to his brain,” Owens said. “They are going to do an MRI in a few days to determine what damage there is.

“He is alert, but in and out. He looks good. His face is still swollen a little bit. But, he’s a fighter.”

In the meantime, Jeremiah A. Johnson, 33, of Goodman Drive in Cahokia Heights, has been charged with aggravated battery, mob action and obstructing justice in connection with the shooting. A St. Clair County judge on Wednesday ordered he be held in jail until trial.

According to charges and testimony given during a pretrial hearing, Johnson threatened another man as he walked down Andrew Street at about 3:30 p.m. on the day of the shooting. A 14-year-old witness who identified Johnson said two other men then entered the fray and all pulled guns.

Tray was on his bike when he found himself in the middle of the gunfight, county prosecutor Judy Dalan said, and was hit in the head by a bullet.

“He was just riding his bicycle. That’s all he does is ride his bicycle and play his games,” Owens said. “He rode around the corner to get his friend to ride with him. His friend told him to wait a bit. As he was coming out of his garage he got shot. His friend heard the gunshots. When he turned around and looked out of the window he saw Tray-Tray lying on the ground next to his bike.

“This was devastating. I couldn’t believe it. If I were to get a call about Tray, I would expect it to be something like he broke his arm popping a wheelie on his bike, not a gunshot to the head.”

Johnson has denied his involvement with the shooting. His girlfriend, Breniesha Williams, said during Wednesday’s hearing that Johnson was asleep in bed and was awakened by the sound of gunfire.

Doorbell camera captured video of part of the shooting, but didn’t show Johnson. Police said security equipment at Johnson’s house appears to have been recently destroyed, though Johnson and Williams both said it hasn’t worked in years.

Still, the broken equipment and allegedly false statements Johnson made to investigators resulted in the obstruction charge.

Owens is satisfied police have identified her great-grandson’s shooter.

“He should be prosecuted for his actions. We want justice. What reason would a 33-year-old man have for shooting outside like that?” she said. “He knows a stray bullet has no certain place to land. He was not on a gun range or in the woods shooting at deer or other animals. It is just senseless and foolish.

“If you are 33 years old, you are supposed to know how to de-escalate a problem.”

Herkeisha “Woo” Lester described her nephew as “a great kid” who, besides his bike and games, liked talking on the phone with his father and his seven siblings. He also enjoyed snacking between meals.

Lester said Tray’s father is devastated and his mother is “sick having to watch her child suffer.” She called her nephew the “innocent victim” of a violence act that has gripped the family’s neighborhood.

“Whatever occurred that day, when they saw kids outside they should have known this was not the time or place for that,” Lester said. “Stray bullets have no names on them. They land anywhere and every place. How many times and how many kids are going to have to get hurt before they realize this is not the wild, wild west or a shooting range?”

At least three juveniles have been the victims of gunfire in the metro-east so far this summer. At about 6 p.m. on July 14, a 12-year-old girl was hit by a stray bullet at the Greystone apartments in Cahokia Heights. Her condition has not been released. Tuesday, a 22-year-old man was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old in Madison July 26.

“We want justice. They have hurt this family and put a scare in people in the community,” Lester said. “People are afraid to go outside to enjoy themselves because they don’t want to worry about their children or their own lives because of these senseless shootings that are happening.”

This story was originally published July 31, 2025 at 5:00 AM.