Police ID Victim of Deadly Shooting at Busy Rochester Shopping Center, Say Road Rage Led to Fatal Gunshot

Update: Charges: Parking Dispute Led to Deadly Rochester Shopping Center Shooting

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- Rochester Police have identified the man who was fatally gunned down at a busy Rochester shopping center over the weekend. 

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The deadly shooting happened around 2 p.m. Saturday at the Crossroads Shopping Center at 1201 South Broadway Ave. Two brothers from Rochester, identified as 20-year-old Isaac Gutierrez and 26-year-old Jose Gutierrez Ojeda, were taken into custody following the shooting. 

On Monday Rochester Police Captain Casey Moilanen identified the victim of the fatal shooting as 24-year-old Osbel Ornelas of Rochester. Moilanen said the Gutierrez brothers and Orneals were involved in a road-rage incident that led to a physical altercation in the parking lot that lies between Chick-fil-A and Aldi. 

Moilanen said at one point during the altercation Jose brandished and racked a handgun. He then returned it to the vehicle he was driving and continued fighting with Ornelas. 

A passenger, who’s name has not been released, riding with Ornelas then joined the altercation. The police report indicates Isaac, who is believed to have been in the passenger seat of the vehicle Jose was driving, then got out of the vehicle armed with the handgun and fired a single shot, striking the back of Ornelas’s head. 

The brothers remained in the vehicle in the parking lot until officers arrived, Moilanen said. Ornelas was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital where he died shortly after arriving despite life-saving measures. 

Back at the scene, Jose told officers he had shot Ornelas in self-defense, however video recorded by witness and business surveillance cameras indicated Isaac had fired the fatal gunshot to the south from close range. 

Moilanen said it appears the brothers and Ornelas did not know each other and that the gun used in the deadly shooting was the only firearm recovered at the scene. The fatal shot was the only bullet fired during the incident, the report says. 

Isaac was booked into the Olmsted County Jail shortly after 5:30 p.m. Saturday on suspicion of second-degree murder and Jose was booked on suspicion of felony second-degree assault shortly before 8 p.m.

The brothers have not yet been arraigned in Olmsted County Court.

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