A compliment from one teenager to another during a birthday party in Minneapolis led to “an interaction between the two” and one of the teens shooting the other in the head, according to a murder charge filed Wednesday.
Raymond Valentino Bowser, 16, of Minneapolis was charged in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting Sunday night of Aundre Loyd, 15, in the basement of a home in the 2900 block of Russell Avenue N.
Bowser was arrested at the scene and awaits his first appearance in juvenile court. The County Attorney’s Office has indicated it intends to have Bowser prosecuted as an adult. Court records do not list an attorney for him as of midday Wednesday.
According to the charging document and a related court record:
Police responded to a report of a shooting shortly after 10:45 p.m. and saw that Loyd was suffering from a gunshot wound to his head. Emergency medical responders declared him dead at the scene. Police recovered a semiautomatic handgun nearby.
One shoeless party attendee, among several kids who ran from the home, flagged down an officer who was already on his way to the residence. The partygoer said he was in the basement when Bowser shot Loyd “following an interaction between the two,” the juvenile petition read.
He said he ran from the house, leaving his cellphone and shoes behind, because he feared Bowser would shoot him, too.
Officers arrested Bowser in the home. He said he was in a chair looking at his phone when Loyd complimented his shoes. Bowser said he heard a gunshot and went upstairs. He also acknowledged touching the gun that was seized at the scene.
