SAINT PAUL, MN – Authorities have charged four individuals in connection with a drive-by shooting that resulted in the death of an innocent man and narrowly missed two young children. The incident unfolded on the afternoon of November 22 near the Rondo Community Library in Saint Paul, leaving a community in shock.
On Friday, charges were filed against three siblings, along with another man, each facing two counts of aiding and abetting second-degree murder among other charges. The events began shortly after noon when police were called to Jasmine Rawls’ apartment on Aurora Avenue, responding to a report of women allegedly threatening her. Investigators determined the group was attempting to retrieve belongings of a relative who had been staying with Rawls. After police assisted the women in retrieving their possessions, they left the scene.
Moments later, gunfire erupted. According to the criminal complaint, 26-year-old Andre Mitchell was sitting in a Mazda sedan outside the apartment building with another adult, his five-year-old daughter, and a two-month-old baby. It was then that a black SUV approached, and its occupants opened fire on the vehicle, killing Mitchell. Miraculously, the other passengers were unharmed, though investigators discovered at least 13 bullet holes in the car. The five-year-old girl reportedly shielded the baby with her body during the attack.
The investigation quickly led authorities to identify the SUV as belonging to Jasmine Rawls’ brother, 25-year-old Stephen Rawls, Jr. Surveillance footage and phone data allegedly placed him, his brother Malik Rawls, 22, and an associate, 23-year-old Jarvis Sanders, at the scene. Phone records purportedly show Jasmine Rawls and Malik speaking multiple times before and after the shooting.
Despite the chaos, investigators noted that Jasmine Rawls did not recognize Mitchell from a photograph. Meanwhile, the Jeep linked to the initial disturbance call was found parked nearby during the shooting. The criminal complaint suggests the group targeted the wrong vehicle in a tragic case of mistaken identity, resulting in the death of an innocent man.
As the community grapples with the senseless violence, the legal proceedings against the accused continue, shedding light on the tragic sequence of events that unfolded that day.