PLYMOUTH, Minnesota — Prosecutors say a months-long feud over Snapchat was apparently the spark that led to a fatal shooting at a birthday party inside a rented home in Plymouth.
A criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County Thursday charges 19-year-old Raheim Tyrese Cooper with two counts of second degree murder in the shooting, which took place Saturday night. The medical examiner says 20-year-old Abraham Archie-Boy Barbly died of multiple gunshot wounds.
The documents describe how police responded to 5820 Oakview Lane shortly before 10:50 p.m. on reports of a shooting. Officers arrived and found a victim, later identified as Barbly, laying on the floor of the kitchen not breathing. He was declared dead at the scene.
Police outside found a backpack near a squad car that had an iPhone, bags of what appeared to be marijuana and a Glock .45 with a laser sight and a switch to make it fully automatic. A witness told investigators that she was outside waiting for a ride when Cooper came up and asked her to hold the backpack. She told police she knows Cooper and did not think anything of it at the time.
Investigators reportedly spoke with other witnesses, including one who described seeing Cooper punch Barbly in the face, then wave a gun in the air before shots were heard and the victim fell to the ground. That witness said they did not actually see Cooper shoot Barbly.
The complaint says multiple people told detectives an ongoing feud had been simmering between the two men, with posts on Snapchat over the past few months.
A security video obtained by Plymouth police shows a crowd of people leaving 5820 Oakview Lane and scattering through the neighborhood. As people are scattering, an unidentified person can reportedly be heard yelling “get Raheim out of there.”
During an initial post-Miranda interview Raheim Cooper allegedly denied any involvement in the shooting. Police say the defendant later changed his story, telling investigators that he punched Barbly in the face, someone handed him a handgun and then he was "bumped or pushed" from behind, causing the weapon to discharge several times.
If found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, Raheim Cooper could be sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Saturday night's shooting is raising questions about the responsibilities of those who license and rent homes on sites like VRBO. City officials confirm the house where the shooting took place was licensed as a rental property in December, and that staff had received no complaints about the address until last weekend.
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