Teen to be prosecuted as an adult in Brooklyn Park shooting that killed 16-year-old cousins

A Hennepin County judge has ordered a 17-year-old murder suspect to be tried as an adult for his alleged role in a shooting last Halloween that killed two 16-year-old cousins.

Court documents show that Courtney Lesean Parker is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Chardid Farah and Diriye Muhumed in Brooklyn Park.

According to a criminal complaint, Brooklyn Park police responded to a reported shooting near the intersection of Zane Avenue and Zane Court shortly after 5 p.m. Two boys – Farah and Muhumed – were found shot; Muhumed was pronounced dead at the scene and Farah was taken to hospital but died three days later.

A caller reported hearing gunshots and seeing three people flee the area.

Investigators concluded that Parker and another suspect, 16-year-old Jaqual Sims-Miller, shot the victims. Prosecutors filed a juvenile complaint against Sims-Miller in November, charging him with two counts of aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Officers recovered Muhumed’s cellphone at the scene and found a text conversation with Sims-Miller that began the day before the shooting. The two argued over a missing weapon and threatened each other, the complaint states. The last text message of the conversation was sent about four hours before the shooting.

There is evidence that Muhumed and Farah went to Sims-Miller’s house to meet him and Parker. Prosecutors allege Parker hit Muhumed in the head with a gun and then shot him in the chest; Meanwhile, Sims-Miller shot Farah, the lawsuit says.

Parker’s first court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday.