Two violence interrupters charged in Minneapolis shooting

Yahoo

18-03-2025

Two men who have worked as violence interrupters in Minneapolis have been charged for their alleged involvement in gunfire that erupted last week during a backyard barbecue.
Kashmir Khaliffa McReynolds, 35, and Alvin Anthony Watkins Jr., 50, are both charged with reckless discharge of a firearm within city limits. McReynolds is charged with illegally giving a firearm to a convicted felon, and Watkins is charged with being a felon in illegal possession of a firearm.
Both are identified in court documents as "working for a community group as armed security." It has since been reported that both have worked for the violence interruption group 21 Days of Peace.
Rev. Jerry McAfee, the founder of 21 Days of Peace, said a Facebook post on Saturday that McReynolds was shot and then arrested for "firing his weapon at those who shot him and tried to assassinate him." KSTP has previously reported Watkins' involvement with the organization.
According to the criminal complaints, the shooting happened on March 10 in the area of 36th Avenue North and Penn Avenue. Officers were alerted via Shotspotter activation and went to the scene to find "dozens of discharged cartridge casings."
Police learned that McReynolds and Watkins were a few blocks away and were suffering from gunshot wounds. McReynolds had been shot in the shoulder and had a bullet graze wound to his neck. He was taken to a hospital and eventually discharged. On the way to the hospital, McReynolds claimed that he had returned fire in the incident but "could not see anyone when he did so," the complaint states.
Nearly 70 gunshots were detected on Shotspotter in total, with the exchange of gunfire happening over a period of 90 seconds.
Surveillance video captured the shooting, with a crowd of people running towards Penn Avenue after the first shots rang out, including Watkins. McReynolds is seen on video lying on the ground near a tree stump, firing a gun about eight seconds after the initial shots were fired.
The complaint details the following:
"Thirty-seven seconds after that, [McReynolds] fired multiple times again. The video depicts [McReynolds] then getting up off of the ground and running towards Queen Avenue. [Watkins] is then seen returning to the address on Penn Avenue. [McReynolds] is heard on the video telling [Watkins], 'Grab my chop' multiple times. Chop is a reference to a firearm. [Watkins] responded, 'Where is it at?' [McReynolds] answered that it was in the backseat, and told [Watkins] to 'Load the b—ch!' The video shows that once [McReynolds] made it to Queen Avenue, he fired again multiple times about one minute and 20 seconds after the initial shots were fired. [Watkins] then fired [McReynolds'] second firearm multiple times immediately after [McReynolds] shot from the intersection in the location in the alley. The two then proceed to their respective vehicles and [Watkins] fired again. The two then leave the scene in their respective vehicles."
McReynolds told investigators he had been standing near the grill when he saw two people near a garage begin shooting. He also initially claimed that he laid on the ground before getting up and walking between cars and houses to fire towards the muzzle flashes that he had seen.
However, video surveillance allegedly contradicted that claim, showing McReynolds shooting while on the ground. He later changed his story, admitting he never saw the shooters and was shooting in the general direction of where the shots were coming from.
According to the complaint, McReynolds said he knew from his training and experience that when returning fire, you are supposed to stop firing when the other person stops firing or turns their back. He admitted he knew he should have not fired once the initial shooters stopped shooting, "but his adrenaline was going."
When McReynolds was asked if he knew he had a duty to retreat and not shoot, he said he didn't, charges say.
Watkins is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to three previous felony-level convictions, according to the complaint. At the time of the shooting, he was on probation.
A warrant was issued for Watkins' arrest before he was taken into custody late Monday night, jail records indicate. He was released early Tuesday morning on $100,000 bail and is set to make his first court appearance the same day.
McReynolds is also due for a court appearance on Tuesday afternoon. He remains in custody.
The charges against McReynolds and Watkins Jr. came on a day that the administration of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey withdrew a contract proposal to Salem Inc., the nonprofit founded by Rev. McAfee, who also founded 21 Days of Peace.
The City of Minneapolis on Friday proposed giving Salem Inc. a $650,000 contract for violence interruption services. The one-year contract, with a two-year renewal option, was set to be considered by the Administration and Enterprise Oversight committee on Monday, only to be withdrawn with no specific reason provided.
"We anticipate submitting a new Request for Council Action for consideration by the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, March 25 that will not include Salem Inc.," a city spokesperson told Bring Me The News.
A member of the city's Office of Community Safety told a council committee on Monday that it was "reviewing events that have occurred" since the violence interruption contracts were proposed, the Star Tribune reports.
The proposal to include Salem Inc. among the proposal violence interruption contracts had raised eyebrows among some Minneapolis City Council members following a tense appearance by McAfee at a meeting last month.
The council held a hearing on a proposal to shift responsibility and funding for group violence intervention programs to Hennepin County, with some council members raising concerns over the use of funding and lack of oversight of the city's Neighborhood Safety Department (NSD), which is led by Minneapolis Public Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette.
Council member Robin Wonsley said the proposal followed several complaints received by the council regarding the NSD, citing understaffing that followed "mass resignations," delays in payments on contracts, and a whistleblower alleging fraud and waste within the department.
McAfee, who is a pastor at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church, spoke at the meeting and proceeded to make threatening remarks towards some of the council members.
"The way you lookin' at me, if you wanna come behind that podium, you do it. I guarantee, I guarantee you will regret it ... I got 40 years of shit in me from seeing my people die," he said.
When asked if that was a threat, McAfee said: "I don't make threats, I make promises," and said if he was to be removed from the chamber, his "people" would come.
On a later Facebook Live stream, McAfee said that he would keep things peaceful at Thursday's meeting, but he also suggested violence to some with the following statement:
"Rev. McAfee ain't hit nobody, I ain't shot nobody. However, I will if I have to. I don't want to. I'm not going to bother anybody, but I'm going to fight for my people."
Bring Me The News reached out to McAfee for further comment following Monday's contract withdrawal, but has not received a response.