Convicted District 287 shooting accomplice sentenced to 3 years in prison

One of the men involved in the Feb. 1, 2022, fatal shooting at the District 287 South Education Center in Richfield has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Thirty-one Eden Prairie students were enrolled in programs at the center at that time. Not all were at the center that day, and those there were evacuated safely.

Alfredo Rosario Solis, 20, was convicted of second-degree assault in December for the shooting that killed 15-year-old Jahmari Kei’Fee Rice and injured another student outside the center, according to a Star Tribune report.

Solis was found not guilty on five of the six felony counts he faced, including second-degree murder, attempted murder and first-degree assault.

Fernando Valdez-Alvarez, the suspected shooter, will go on trial for murder in February.

Solis’ sentence was the mandatory minimum and restricts him from ever possessing a firearm.

According to the Star Tribune report, Solis took the stand and admitted that he fired the gun up in the air as “warning shots” He also admitted the murder weapon was his. It is unknown which suspect brought the gun to school, the report said.

Police found a 9mm Glock 45 handgun in Solis’ bedroom when the suspects were arrested at separate locations several hours after the gunfire killed Rice and hit another student, age 17, who was taken to HCMC by ambulance in critical condition, the Star Tribune reported.

A disagreement among students led to the shooting, according to Richfield police.

The suspects and victims all attended South Education Center Academy and were acquaintances.