Dispute leads to shooting, crash at Minneapolis fire station: Charges

A shooting that led to a man running inside his apartment to "Say goodbye to his children" before trying to drive himself to the hospital resulted in charges for an Eden Prairie man. 

Xavier Cordarius Willis, 33, of Eden Prairie, is charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault for his alleged involvement in the incident that left one victim intubated without brain function in the hospital. 

On Jan. 13, Minneapolis Police officers were dispatched to a shooting incident at an apartment located on the 2000 block of 21st Avenue South. Meanwhile, additional officers responded to a nearby fire station where a known man was suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the chest.

According to charges, an investigation into the incidents determined that earlier that morning, the victim and Willis were involved in a verbal dispute, during which Willis pulled a gun. That incident was reported to police shortly after it happened.

Later that day, the victim was parked outside the apartment complex on 21st Avenue South, speaking to his girlfriend, when witnesses say Willis approached the car and fired one round through the vehicle's windshield, striking him in the chest, charges allege.

The shooting was recorded on the apartment building's surveillance camera, which shows Willis walking through an alley to where the victim was parked, and then leaving the scene after the shooting, according to charges.

According to police, after the shooting, the victim exited his vehicle and proceeded to walk upstairs to "say goodbye to his child," according to witness statements.

He then got back into his vehicle and attempted to drive himself to the hospital, but while en route crashed outside a Minneapolis Fire Department station. He was then transported to the hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.

In a post-Miranda statement, Willis admitted to shooting the victim, according to police.

During the execution of a search warrant where he resides, officers also located .40 caliber ammunition and a "Glock handgun owner's manual" despite Willis being prohibited from possessing firearms after multiple felony convictions in Illinois, charges state.