A teenage motorist involved in a minor collision at a Rochester intersection saw the other driver had a gun drawn and dared the man to shoot him, and that's exactly what happened, according to a friend who was in the teen's car.
Witness to a killing: Rochester teen said 'I dare you,' and fellow motorist pulled trigger
A Rochester teen dared an armed man to shoot him after the two were involved in a minor collision, according to a friend who was in the teen's car and saw the fatal shooting.
January 21, 2018 at 2:06AM
Muhammed Rahim, 17, of Rochester, was shot and killed about 8:20 a.m. Sunday at East River Road and 31st Street NE. A 25-year-old Rochester man with a permit to carry a firearm was arrested and remains jailed on suspicion of second-degree murder. The man, who has not been charged, told police that he was acting in self-defense.
Two of the three passengers with Rahim gave on-camera interviews at the scene to KTTC-TV in Rochester and detailed how the confrontation between the two drivers played out.
"[Rahim] got out and confronted him," said Noah Dukart. "The guy who we hit wanted to fight. My friend got in his face, and then the guy we hit pulled a gun out, and then my friend said, 'I dare you,' and he shot him right in the heart, and I watched him bleed out."
Riley Bongiorno told the TV station that "[I] tried putting pressure on [the wound] and everything and trying to make it stop, and I could just see in his eyes that he wasn't coming back."
Police said Rahim tried to make a right turn from East River Road onto 31st and slid into a ditch. The man in the other vehicle took evasive action and was almost hit by Rahim's car, police added.
Rahim reversed out of the ditch and hit the man's vehicle. Rahim and one of his passengers got out of the vehicle and confronted the man, according to police.
Police Capt. John Sherwin told the Rochester Post-Bulletin there was "some posturing and words exchanged," and that Rahim approached the other driver.
"There is a self-defense claim being made by [the other driver] at this time, that he was in fear and that's why he shot the victim," Sherwin told the newspaper.
Sherwin said the driver of the other vehicle was on his way to referee a youth basketball game when the crash and shooting happened.
Witnesses are still being sought, police said, in particular whoever was driving a newer red sport-utility vehicle east on 31st about the time the shooting occurred.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
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