15-year-old student shot and killed outside school, Minnesota cops say. ‘Tragic day’
A 15-year-old student was killed Tuesday, Feb. 1, as he and another boy were walking on the sidewalk outside their Minnesota school, police said.
Hours after the shooting during the school day outside South Education Center in Richfield, two suspects were arrested, according to police in the Minneapolis-area town. The identities of the suspects and their charges have not been announced, but KARE reported they are 18 and 19 years old.
Two students were discovered shot near the front entrance of the school around 12 p.m. Tuesday, Richfield police said. One of the victims, identified by WCCO as Jahmari Rice, died at a local hospital.
The other victim in the shooting was hospitalized and was listed in critical condition as of Tuesday evening, police said.
Jay Henthorne, the town’s police chief, called it a “tragic day in the city of Richfield” during a news briefing live streamed by KSTP.
The suspects fled after the shooting, Henthorne said, and area schools were placed on lockdown before police determined there was no further threat.
Police later said they recovered a gun that may have bee used in the shooting.
Jahmari is the son of Cortez Rice, a local activist recently jailed after protesting outside the home of a judge involved in the trial of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter, Bring Me The News reported. Potter was convicted in December in the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop last year.
“That’s something that is ridiculous and unbearable and I can’t think about how he feels, and I can’t feel how he feels losing a son,” Damik Bryant, the brother of Daunte Wright, told WCCO, after Jahmari’s death. “But I know how it feels to lose somebody, so we’re going to stand here in solidarity with the family.”
Jahmari formerly played football for Richfield High School. His coach, Kris Pulford, described him to KARE as a “good kid” whose death will leave the community searching for answers.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement on Twitter Tuesday night that parents deserve to know their kids will come home safely from school.
“My prayers are with the students, parents and teachers whose confidence in that expectation was shaken today,” Walz said. “We need more than words, though — we need action. We need action to get guns off the streets and prevent violent crime in the first place.”
The Richfield City Council also released a joint statement, expressing the members’ condolences to the families.
“Richfield has long been a close-knit, safe and welcoming community,” the city council said. “Everyone in our community deserves to feel safe in their schools and in their community, and today this safety was threatened.”
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 10:27 AM with the headline "15-year-old student shot and killed outside school, Minnesota cops say. ‘Tragic day’."