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Prosecutors in Olmsted County dropped a murder case against a Rochester man on Monday after two juries failed to render verdicts.

Authorities charged 26-year-old Alexander William Weiss in the shooting death of 17-year-old Mohammed Rahim in 

According to the criminal complaint, Weiss was driving in Rochester, Minn., on a Sunday morning when he saw a Chevy Cavalier moving too fast and crash into a storm drain. Weiss said he pulled up behind Rahim's Chevy to help, but Rahim backed up and hit Weiss' Subaru.

Weiss, who has a permit to carry a gun, told police he shot Rahim in self-defense after Rahim and a passenger became verbally aggressive. Weiss claimed that Rahim "got in his face and spat on him," according to the complaint.

Police and prosecutors said Weiss' actions did not meet the self-defense standard. But trials in May and October ended in hung juries.

Murder charge in Rochester case where victim dared gunman to shoot

Rochester victim dared gunman to shoot him

In a statement, Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said because a unanimous verdict is highly improbable, he has ethical and legal obligations to dismiss the charge.

“I believe strongly that Mr. Weiss’s decision to shoot Muhammed Rahim was unjustified,” Ostrem said in a 

 Monday. “[The incident is] a tragic result of a series of choices by many people, including Mr. Weiss’s choice to brandish and discharge his weapon.”

Crime, Law and Justice

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Matt Sepic

Author

Prosecutors in Olmsted County dropped a case against a Rochester man who was charged with second-degree murder in the 2018 shooting death of 17-year-old Mohammed Rahim.

Murder charge dismissed against Rochester man who shot and killed a teen

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