On a tragic day in Minneapolis, Leras Francis Rainey, a 28-year-old Native American man, was fatally wounded in a mass shooting. The incident unfolded near the corner of 25th Street East and Bloomington Avenue on April 29, 2025. Rainey, along with four others, was shot while inside a vehicle. He sustained a gunshot wound to the head and was transported to Hennepin Healthcare, where he fought for his life for two days before succumbing to his injuries on May 1, 2025.
His death was officially ruled a homicide.
The violence of that night also claimed the lives of three other individuals: 17-year-old Joseph Douglas Goodwin of Minneapolis, 20-year-old Merelle Joan White of Red Lake, and 27-year-old Evan Ramon Denny. A fifth victim, a 20-year-old woman, was shot in the face but miraculously survived. This lone survivor was able to provide crucial information to law enforcement, identifying the man allegedly responsible for the attack. All of the victims, including Rainey, were Native American. The loss was deeply felt by their loved ones; Rainey was a father of four, and his family described his unexpected passing as leaving a deep void in their lives.
Following an investigation, authorities arrested 34-year-old James Duane Ortley in connection with the quadruple homicide. He was charged with multiple counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. According to the criminal complaint, the surviving victim told police that Ortley was inside the car with all five victims when he shot them "execution-style" in their heads before fleeing the scene on foot. Investigators believe the shooting was a targeted and gang-related attack, alleging that Ortley and his family have associations with the Native Mob gang.
The father of Leras Rainey, Les Robinson, shared that his son had seemed happy on the day of the shooting and was just going to visit friends. He expressed his heartbreak, stating that his son was a good person who was loved by everyone. The incident was part of a larger wave of violence in Minneapolis, with police investigating a belief that another fatal shooting that occurred the next day, claiming the life of 34-year-old Tiago Antonio Gilbert, was a retaliatory act connected to this mass shooting. Bail for Ortley was set at $2 million.
