Jaydon Rashad Cousins, a 19-year-old Black male, died on January 11, 2023, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after suffering a gunshot wound to the chest. The events leading to his death began around 8:20 p.m. in the parking lot of Gold Star Foods on Lowry Avenue North. Cousins and another individual allegedly attempted to carjack a couple in an SUV.
According to surveillance footage and police reports, two men approached the parked SUV.
When the driver's side door was opened, the driver of the SUV reversed, dragging Cousins across the parking lot. The second assailant then fired approximately 24 rounds at the vehicle, striking the male driver, Sylvester Holden, in the abdomen and the female passenger, Simone Blanch, in the arm. Holden was taken to a hospital in critical condition, while Blanch's injuries were less severe.
After being dragged by the SUV, which eventually became lodged in an embankment, Cousins managed to free himself and ran across the street before collapsing. Minneapolis police officers who were nearby responding to a traffic accident heard the gunshots and performed CPR on Cousins, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators believe that the gunman, in firing wildly at the SUV, may have been the one who fatally shot Cousins.
The second suspect fled the scene on foot and, as of the latest available information, has not been identified or apprehended. The case remains under investigation, and no arrests have been made in connection with the death of Jaydon Rashad Cousins or the shooting of the two victims in the SUV.
