Teenager Charged In Fatal Drive-By Shooting Of Bicyclist
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A teenager has been charged with second degree murder in the fatal drive-by shooting of a bicyclist earlier this week, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Friday.
Marcel Tyrone Farr, 17, was charged with the murder of 19-year-old Tabyis Paskins. Farr was also charged with the drive-by shooting of Paskins' friend, who was with Paskin but not hurt by the bullets.
"This is another stupid killing," said Freeman. "Mr. Paskins wasn't even the intended target and Mr. Farr's motivation appears to be that he thought the other victim had once been part of a gang he didn't like. This appalling gun violence must end."
According to the juvenile petition, Paskins and his friend were bicycling on Logan Avenue North in Minneapolis around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. As they passed a house near Hillside Avenue, someone among a group of people yelled the friend's name. The friend ignored them.
Several of the people jumped into a red Jeep and caught up with the bicyclists. Farr leaned out of the vehicle's window and asked the friend, "Ain't you with the Pack?" the petition states. The friend said he didn't do that anymore and Paskins said, "That's good, because I would have killed you."
The friend then heard gunshots and saw Farr firing a handgun. Paskins was hit and collapsed. Nearby construction workers called 911. Paskins died later that morning, the petition says.
Paskins' friend directed police to the house from which the group came. The red Jeep was parked there and the house's owner allowed police inside, where they found Farr and several other juveniles. Farr told police he did shoot several times, according to the petition.
Farr was expected to appear in juvenile court Friday afternoon. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office filed a motion to have Farr certified as an adult.
