One student was killed and another critically injured after a shooting outside a Minneapolis-area high school with a link to the Kim Potter trial.
The slain teenager has been named by friends as Jamari Rice, whose father, Cortez Rice, is in jail on charges he tried to intimidate Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu.
Judge Chu presided over December’s manslaughter trial of the fired Brooklyn Center Police officer who was convicted of the killing of Black motorist Daunte Wright during a stop last April.
Potter mistakenly shot Mr Wright with her service pistol rather than her Taser, and awaits sentencing.
“I hope that this wakes the city up. We need change. We’re out here fighting for the community, and the community takes Cortez’s son. That makes no sense,” family friend Damik Bryant told The Star-Tribune.
It was just Rice’s second day at the school, according to Kris Pulford, the head football coach at Richfield High School, where Rice played as a freshman and sophomore.
“When he had things going, he was very intense, a very positive kid,” Mr Pulford told the newspaper of Rice.
“He stood up for his buddies, and he loved the game of football.”
The lawyer for Cortez Rice, Jordan Kushner, confirmed that Jamari Rice had died in the shooting and said he would try and get his client released as a result.
“He should be able to go home from jail. His son is killed. … He would have been taking care of him,” said Mr Kushner.
Cortez Rice has denied the charges of intimidation and harassment.
Police say that the two victims were shot on the sidewalk outside South Education Center in Richfield, Minnesota, and the suspects fled the scene immediately in a vehicle.
The two were rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center, where one was pronounced dead and the other was taken into surgery, according to KARE11.
Richfield Police Chief Jay Henthorne told reporters the two victims were shot outside the South Education Center around 12.07pm on Tuesday.
“This is a tragic day in the city of Richfield,” Chief Henthorne said.
“Our community, our hearts, our prayers, our thoughts go out to District 287, their students, their families and our community.”
Police, and special agents from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are now on the scene.
District 287 Superintendent Sandra Lewandowski said staff members and police responded immediately after the shooting, and the campus was locked down.
“We express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victims. To us there are students who come through the doors every day, we care for them, and this is a terrible tragedy and loss,” said Ms Lewandowski.
“We are deeply saddened by this incident, and will do everything we can to work to support the families, classmates and staff in whatever way possible.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz took to Twitter to address the shooting.
“I’m currently being briefed on the situation unfolding in Richfield. Our Department of Public Safety is in touch with local law enforcement and we are monitoring the situation closely,” he said.
The South Education Center is a partnership of 11 metro-area school districts in Minneapolis and serves student with unique needs.
Law enforcement was called to the school last September after reports of a student on campus with a handgun.
The school was locked down and police took a student into custody near the school’s entrance, and found a loaded weapon in the student’s possession.
