Muhammed Raheem was 17 when he was shot and killed on January 14, 2018, in Rochester, Minnesota, after a confrontation that followed a minor traffic incident. According to witness accounts, Raheem’s car had slid into a ditch and, while reversing, struck a vehicle driven by 25-year-old Alexander Weiss, who had stopped after seeing the initial mishap. Raheem and a passenger got out and a verbal and physical altercation followed. Witnesses say Weiss, who held a permit to carry, produced a 9-millimeter handgun, and after an exchange in which Raheem allegedly dared Weiss to shoot, Weiss fired once at close range, striking Raheem in the chest. Raheem was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital and pronounced dead.

Weiss was arrested at the scene and charged with second-degree murder. Two trials ended in mistrials when juries could not reach unanimous verdicts. In November 2019 the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office announced it would not pursue a third trial and the murder charge was dismissed; the prosecutor stated a belief that Weiss’s actions were unjustified but cited the unlikelihood of a different outcome in another trial. Any readers who witnessed the incident or knew Muhammed Raheem are asked to share what they remember.