Man charged with trying to kill person hours after argument in Minneapolis

An Eden Prairie man is accused of trying to kill a man in Minneapolis hours after the two had a verbal dispute earlier this month.

Wednesday, prosecutors charged 33-year-old Xavier Cordarius Willis with attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault in connection to a shooting on Jan. 13.

Court documents state that Minneapolis police officers were called to a reported shooting at an apartment in the 2000 block of 21st Avenue South that afternoon. While officers were en route, they learned the victim had crashed his vehicle outside a nearby fire station.

Fire crews provided aid to the victim before he was rushed to a hospital and underwent emergency surgery. Charging documents state that doctors didn’t expect the victim to survive but, as of Wednesday, he was intubated and still alive, albeit without brain function.

According to a criminal complaint, police had talked to the victim that morning after he filed a police report regarding a verbal dispute with Willis where Willis allegedly pulled out a gun. However, the two went their separate ways after the argument.

It wasn’t until later that day — when the victim was parked outside the apartment, talking to his girlfriend, who is also the mother of his child — that Willis allegedly walked in front of the victim’s vehicle and fired a shot through the windshield, hitting the victim in the chest.

The complaint notes that the entire incident was caught by the apartment’s surveillance cameras, and other footage showed Willis parking his vehicle and walking through an alley to get to the victim, then running away after the shooting.

It also states that the victim walked upstairs after the shooting to “say goodbye to his child” before trying to drive himself to the hospital and ultimately crashing outside the fire station.

Additionally, when officers talked to Willis, the complaint states that he admitted to shooting the victim. Officers searched Willis’ home on Monday and found .40-caliber ammunition and a handgun owner’s manual but not any gun.

Willis is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Thursday afternoon.

If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison on each charge, although charges could be upgraded if the victim dies.