Teen dies nearly a week after being shot in New Hope

A 16-year-old boy who investigators say was shot by his friend last week in New Hope has died of his injuries.

A report released Thursday by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office states Keair Marquis Reed of Chaska died on Tuesday. Investigators say he had been shot in the eye six days prior.

As previously reported, New Hope police responded to a shooting on the 6000 block of Quebec Avenue North around 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 18. The 911 caller, named in a juvenile petition as 17-year-old Anthony Freebird Wirtjes, said his friend had shot himself and was unconscious and not breathing.

Officers found Reed lying on a couch without a pulse.

Wirtjes told police he was asleep in bed and “woke to the sound of a gunshot,” a juvenile petition states. However, two witnesses interviewed by police said Wirtjes and Reed were “giggling” and “joking around” moments before they heard gunfire.

One witness said he saw Reed leaning over Wirtjes and asking for a vape right before the shooting. Afterward, the petition states Wirtjes was seen holding Reed and crying, “No, no, no!” The same witness said he hadn’t seen a gun at the time of the shooting, but the two had been “playing and taking pictures and videos with the firearm” the night before.

Based on where the bullets were recovered and the positioning of the boys, according to the witnesses, investigators determined that the teen had shot his friend. Court documents noted that the witness statements contradicted statements Wirtjes had made, as well as his 911 call saying the victim shot himself.

Wirtjes was charged on Tuesday with one count each of first-degree assault and having and operating a gun with a binary trigger. At the time those charges were filed, Reed was still on life support.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has asked the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office whether prosecutors plan to bring new charges against Wirtjes now that the victim has died.