On the night of January 9, 2025, Rico Ronondo Rodriguez, a 43-year-old Hispanic and Black/African American male, was fatally shot in a north Minneapolis apartment. The incident occurred at approximately 10:30 p.m. inside a residence in the 1100 block of James Avenue North. When police officers responded to reports of gunfire, they found Rodriguez inside the apartment, where he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner later confirmed that Rodriguez died from a gunshot wound to the chest and ruled his death a homicide.
Initial investigations revealed that the shooter had fled the location before law enforcement arrived. A woman at the scene, who identified herself as Rodriguez's girlfriend, told police that her daughter's boyfriend had shot him. She explained that the shooting followed an argument between the two men. According to her account, the argument began outside the apartment before the fatal shot was fired, striking Rodriguez in the neck. After the shooting, the suspect and the woman's daughter reportedly fled together in a white Subaru. Investigators found a 9-millimeter casing and blood both inside and outside the apartment. At the time of the incident, several children were reportedly upstairs in the home but were unharmed.
An arrest was made in connection with the fatal shooting. Marvel Galvaston Williams, III, a 20-year-old from Brooklyn Park, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Rico Ronondo Rodriguez. Court documents allege that the motive for the shooting was a dispute over an unpaid debt. The argument reportedly stemmed from money owed to Williams' sister, who had been at the apartment earlier that day to braid a child's hair. Williams was taken into custody and is being held on a $1 million bail.
