Rochester Man Charged With Murder In Shooting After Crash
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 25-year-old Rochester man is accused of murder in a shooting that left a 17-year-old dead after a crash Sunday morning.
Alexander William Weiss is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Muhammed Rahim.
According to the charges, a Rochester police officer was on patrol at about 8:20 a.m. when a driver pulled up next to his squad saying a person had just been shot in the area of The Square on 31st and Olympik Village Apartments. The officer was dispatched around the same time to a report of a shooting in the area.
The officer saw a man lying in the middle of 31st Street NE. Two women were near the man, one man was standing on the north side of the street and another man approached the officer. The man approaching the officer said his friend had just been shot. He identified the shooter, Weiss, as the man standing on the north side of the street.
Weiss was taken into custody, and emergency personnel were attempting life-saving efforts on Rahim. The officer arresting Weiss removed a Glock 19 handgun from his right front pocket. It contained a 17-round magazine with 15 rounds.
The complaint states Weiss told officers he was traveling westbound on 31st Street NE when he saw a car hit the sewer grate on the north side of the street. He drove his vehicle near the car, and the car backed into his. A man got out of the car and became aggressive toward Weiss, so he went back to his car and grabbed his phone and gun. The vehicle then went towards the entrance of The Square, and the victim got out of the vehicle and became confrontational and aggressive.
Weiss told both a witness and Rahim that he had a gun and police were coming. Weiss said the victim got in his face and spit at him. The victim also grabbed at his gun, so Weiss stepped back and shot him, the complaint states.
Rahim was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead a short time later.
The complaint states an officer at the scene noticed visible damage to Weiss's car on the rear-passenger side door. His car had a bumper sticker that read, "Gun Control Means Hitting Your Target." The officer also noticed a small pool of blood about 20 feet from Weiss's car. Rahim was with two women and another male at the time of the shooting. They were going to visit a friend at The Square.
One witness told police Rahim's car crashed as it turned right onto 31st Street NE, then collided with Weiss's car. The witness said Weiss got out of his car and wanted to fight. Neither Rahim nor Weiss were armed at the time. Rahim got very close to Weiss, puffed his chest out with hands down. Weiss then pulled a gun and pointed it at Rahim. Rahim told Weiss, "I f****ing dare you to do it," and Weiss shot Rahim in the chest, the complaint states.
According to the complaint, Weiss said witnesses were threatening him when he said he was going to call the police and he told them to stop so they could sort the situation out. Weiss told officers he feared for his safety, so he went back to his car and grabbed his gun. He told the witnesses he had a gun and not to do anything stupid. Weiss said the witness got about 10 feet from him, and he pulled his gun.
The complaint states when Weiss pulled the gun, one of the witnesses said, "That's not even a real gun" and spat at him. Weiss said the victim then reached out for his gun, and he shot him at "point blank" range. He then put the gun in his pocket and called 911.
If convicted, Weiss faces up to 40 years in prison.
