A 16-year-old was charged Tuesday with two counts of aiding and abetting premeditated murder in the double homicide of two 16-year-old cousins in Brooklyn Park.
Jaqual Ditez Sims-Miller of Brooklyn Park is accused of taking part in the fatal shooting around 5 p.m. on Oct. 31, Halloween. In a petition to certify him as an adult, prosecutors say Sims-Miller admitted to shooting one victim. Police say there is another suspect who has not been named or charged.
Chardid Hachi Farah of Minneapolis died late Friday at North Memorial Health Hospital. He had been on life support since he was shot along with his cousin, Diriye Abdi Muhumed. A street outreach group went to the crime scene near the intersection of Zane Court and Zane Avenue to divert trick-or-treaters.
Minneapolis police said in a search warrant affidavit that the cousins were suspects in the death of Jaden Malik Anand Hollman, 21, in Minneapolis on Oct. 30.
According to charges filed against Sims-Miller of aiding second-degree murder:
A 911 caller said they saw three people running from the scene shortly after hearing gunshots. Brooklyn Park police found Muhumed dead and rushed Farah to the hospital.
Investigators say Sims-Miller was one of two people who shot the victims, based on a review of video and forensic evidence and interviews with witnesses.
Text messages from Muhumed's phone show him and Sims-Miller in an argument over a missing firearm. Threats were made by both parties. The last text was sent four hours before the double homicide.
Police also found discharged cartridge casings that matched a gun used in a July 25 shooting in the same area, where Sims-Miller lives. At the crime scene, investigators located shoe prints heading toward his residence.
In a police interview where he was accompanied by his parents, Sims-Miller admitted being involved in the shooting. He said that Muhumed left a gun at Sims-Miller's house and they arranged to meet. Sims-Miller was armed when they met, and Muhumed brought two other people with him.
The meeting did not go according to plan, Sims-Miller said, and he pulled out his gun and shot one of the victims.
Video captured parts of the shooting. A male is shown on top of one of the victims searching the victim's pockets after he had fallen to the ground from the gunshot.
Sims-Miller appeared in juvenile court Tuesday with his parents, who declined to comment.
His public defender, Kathy Cima, told Judge Todd Fellman that Sims-Miller "has never been in trouble before. He was incredibly helpful, cooperative" with the investigation, she said, and added that his mom said he has been a good kid.
Cima asked for the teen to be placed on electronic home monitoring. Probation recommended detention, and prosecutors agreed.
Fellman ordered the teen to remain in detention based on the seriousness of two lives lost.
