A 19-year-old man who was shot inside a South California movie theater was confirmed dead by the police and his family on Saturday.
Anthony Barajas, a young man placed on life support, was with a certain Rylee Goodrich, 18, on Monday. They were watching “The Forever Purge” at a theater in Corona when they were shot in the head.
An employee saw the two after the movie’s last showing that night.
Barajas was rushed to the hospital while Goodrich died at the scene.
According to the police, the shooting seemed to be unmotivated and had happened randomly. Together with the Riverside County prosecutors, police are working to increase Josepth Jimenez’, suspected shooter, murder count into two.
“There’s no information the suspect and victims had any prior contact before these crimes took place,” said Corona Police Cpl. Tobias Kouroubacalis during a press conference.
On Friday, 20-year-old Jimenez came to the Riverside County Superior Court as murder charges were raised against him on the death of Goodrich, as well on the attempted murder charge of Barajas.
The suspect did not release a plea and his arraignment was moved to next week.
Jimenez was also charged by the prosecutors with a special circumstance of lying in wait. If convicted as charged, this can make him qualify for the death penalty.
A firearm and evidence linked to the shooting were also found by the investigators at Jimenez’ El Cerrito home, which they searched through the authority of a warrant.
“Based on the evidence provided to our office, this appears to be a random and unprovoked attack,” said the Riverside district attorney’s office through a statement.
Since his arrest, Jimenez has been placed behind bars but it remains uncertain whether he will have an attorney to represent him, according to a report by SFGate.
Barajas used to post lip-sync videos and skits online and also was a high school honor student. His followers on TikTok have reached nearly 1 million, Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.
“From his quick smile to his compassionate heart, Anthony’s presence was a gift to all who knew him,” Barajas’ family said.
