DANVILLE, Va. – The Danville Commonwealth Attorney’s Office is releasing the video that led a grand jury to drop all criminal charges Wednesday in a deadly shooting.
Shafi Yassin Rasheed, 20, was shot and killed at Cardinal Village Apartments on a Saturday afternoon last month.
Authorities say the incident unfolded in the 600 block of Edmonds Street side of the apartment complex between Rasheed and a 21-year-old man who has not been identified.
Officers report that the video shows Rasheed approaching the 21-year-old man at a vehicle parked on Edmonds with a firearm and punched through the car window with a gun in hand.
They say the gun fell into the car and Rasheed was asking for it back. He then started to walk around to the other side of the vehicle.
That’s when the 21-year-old man pulled out his own gun and fired three shots at Rasheed.
Police say Rasheed was believed to be upset about a female acquaintance, even though the two men had no history of threats or violence between them before this incident.
Shortly before 1:30 p.m., the Danville 911 center received a call about the incident. Minutes later the center received another call, this time from the 21-year-old man, claiming that he was involved in a shooting and shot someone near Cardinal Village in self-defense.
When police arrived at the scene, they found Rasheed suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.
According to authorities, the 21-year-old man gave law enforcement his firearm and cooperated with the investigation.
The Danville Commonwealth Attorney’s Office presented the case to a grand jury to review the evidence and determine if criminal charges are appropriate in this incident.
The jury ultimately dropped the manslaughter charge on Wednesday because they believed the defendant acted out of fear for his life.