A male suspected of fatally shooting a 15-year-old girl in a north Minneapolis home fled after the weapon “just went off” and remains at large, according to charging documents filed Tuesday against two teenage brothers.
Jamal Deon Otis, 17, and Jaamar Deondre Otis, 16, were each charged by juvenile petition in Hennepin County District Court with felony aiding an offender after the fact in connection with the shooting Saturday afternoon of Tyra Kiyae Terry in a two-story house in the 3400 block of N. Logan Avenue.
Terry was visiting the home of the Otis brothers, her cousins, at the time of the shooting, according to the petitions.
“Based on the evidence gathered at the scene, police determined a firearm was being handled negligently in a way that created an unreasonable risk and caused the death of [Terry],” the petitions read.
The County Attorney’s Office indicated in the petitions that it intends to ask that that the teens be prosecuted in adult court, where any conviction would likely lead to stiffer sentences. Court records do not list attorneys for either brother.
The brothers appeared in court Tuesday and were approved to be represented by different public defenders. Judge Bruce Manning ordered them to be detained on electronic home monitoring. Jamaal Otis is due back in court Wednesday, while Jaamar Otis has a hearing scheduled for Sept. 10.
Questioned soon after the shooting by police about the person who shot Terry, both brothers said they didn’t know the suspect was in the home at the time. Police have announced no further arrests as of Tuesday afternoon.
In a statement issued after the petitions were filed, County Attorney Mary Moriarty said, “I am sure that [the suspect] is scared, but the best thing he can do is to turn himself in. We don’t want anyone else to get hurt, including him.”