In the late summer of 2024, the life of 16-year-old Keair Marquis Reed, a Black male from Chaska, Minnesota, was tragically cut short. On the afternoon of September 18th, Keair was at his friend's home in New Hope, a Minneapolis suburb. The boys, who were reportedly friends, were playing with a "ghost gun," an untraceable firearm assembled from a kit.
This particular 9-millimeter handgun was equipped with a binary trigger, a modification that allows the weapon to fire both when the trigger is pulled and when it is released.
According to witnesses, the two teenagers had been laughing and talking, and had even been taking pictures and videos with the firearm throughout the night. Around 1:30 p.m., a shot rang out. Keair was struck in the eye. His friend, 17-year-old Anthony Freebird Wirtjes, called 911, initially claiming that Keair had shot himself. When police arrived at the residence in the 6000 block of North Quebec Avenue, they found Keair unconscious on the couch with no pulse. The ghost gun lay at his feet. Rushed to the hospital, Keair was placed on life support but showed no brain activity. He succumbed to the gunshot wound to his head six days later, on September 24, 2024. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office later ruled his death a homicide.
The investigation into Keair's death quickly focused on Anthony Wirtjes. A witness contradicted Wirtjes' initial statement, telling investigators they saw him holding Keair after the shot, crying out, "No, no, no!" Initially, Wirtjes was charged in juvenile court with first-degree assault and illegal possession of a machine gun. Following Keair's death, a more serious charge of second-degree manslaughter was added. Prosecutors also indicated their intent to seek to have Wirtjes tried as an an adult.
Ultimately, Anthony Freebird Wirtjes pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter. As part of a plea deal, he was sentenced to a juvenile corrections program in Red Wing, where he is expected to remain until he turns 21 in 2028. If he successfully completes the program, a four-year prison sentence will be stayed, and he will be on supervised probation. Keair’s family, who described him as a fun-loving, protective, and respectful young man who dreamed of becoming an architect, was left devastated by the loss of their son and brother.
