MINNEAPOLIS —Two young men were charged Friday with fatally shooting a fellow student and wounding two others outside their school this week in Richfield.
Alfredo Rosario Solis, 19, and Fernando Valdez-Alvarez, 18, both of Minneapolis, were each charged with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in connection with the gunfire outside South Education Center that killed 15-year-old sophomore Jahmari Rice.
A 17-year-old student also was shot, was hospitalized and remains in critical condition at HCMC, according to the charges. A 19-year-old student suffered minor injuries from the incident, but authorities have yet to say whether his wounds were from the gunfire. Those two students have yet to be identified.
Solis and Valdez-Alvarez remain jailed in lieu of $1 million bail. Court records do not list an attorney for them, and their initial court appearances have yet to be scheduled.
The two suspects and three victims all attended South Education Center and "are acquaintances," Police Chief Jay Henthorne said earlier this week. Classes resumed Friday morning after being canceled since the shooting.
Solis and Valdez-Alvarez do not appear to have juvenile records or any criminal history in Minnesota beyond minor traffic violations, according to a law enforcement source.
Police Lt. Brad Drayna said the suspects were arrested just after 6 p.m. Tuesday after police executed search warrants at two Minneapolis addresses and recovered a handgun.
Police executed five additional search warrants, including one in Crystal, where they also recovered a gun, the chief said Wednesday, adding that ballistics testing would determine whether either firearm was used in the shooting. Police also said they located the vehicle in which the pair fled.
Rice played football for two seasons at Richfield High School before his recent transfer to South Education Center, an alternative high school in Richfield. Tuesday was only his second day at his new school. Football coach Kris Pulford said Rice transferred to the school "just so he could find a place where he can be successful."
There have been two previous fatal shootings at schools in Minnesota in the past 18-plus years.
In March 2005, 16-year-old Jeff Weise killed his grandfather and the man's girlfriend, then headed to Red Lake High School, where he killed five students, a teacher and a security guard before killing himself.
In September 2003 in Cold Spring, 15-year-old John Jason McLaughlin fatally shot fellow Rocori High School students Seth Bartell, 14, and Aaron Rollins, 17. McLaughlin is serving a life prison sentence and is not eligible for parole until he serves at least 30 years. Mental health experts testified at his trial. Three diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia, and three diagnosed him with a major depressive disorder in remission.
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