California man, 20 is arrested for shooting dead girl, 18 and wounding her TikTok star friend, 19, at late night screening of The Forever Purge: Cops say killing was unprovoked and motiveless
A California man was charged with the shooting of TikTok star Anthony Barajas, 19, and the murder of his friend Rylee Goodrich, 18.
Joseph Jimenez, 19, was arrested on July 27 after witness statements connected him to Monday's deadly shooting, which cops say was unprovoked. They believe Jimenez did not know his alleged victims, and have yet to discover a possible motive for the bloodbath.
Corona Police Department officers were issued a search warrant for a residence in the 19000 block of Envoy in El Cerrito, Corona, California where Jimenez was arrested at around 8pm on Tuesday night.
Officers discovered a firearm and additional evidence related to the crime scene at his residence. Based on statements obtained by law enforcement, there is no known motive appearing to be an unprovoked attack. The location of the arrest was not Jimenez's residence. The location was in un-incorporated Corona while the suspect lives in Corona proper.
Jimenez was booked on charges of murder, attempted murder, and robbery on July 28. He was booked at Riverside Presley Detention Center and is being held on a $2,000,000 bail, according to police reports.
The suspected gunman is set to appear at the Riverside Hall of Justice on July 30.
The 19 year-old TikTok star is on life support and his 18 year-old friend is dead after they were shot during a screening of The Forever Purge at an almost-empty California movie theater.
Joseph Jimenez, 20, was arrested on July 27 and charged with murder, attempted murder, and robbery in a shooting that left a teen dead and a TikTok star on life support
Goodrich and Barajas were watching 'The Forever Purge' on Monday when in a nearly empty theater when they were shot
Anthony Barajas is critically ill, while his friend Rylee Goodrich died after being gunned down during a screening of the dystopian vigilante horror movie at Regal Edwards Corona Crossings in Corona, California on Monday night.
Corona Police Department Cpl. Tobias Kouroubacalis has said that law enforcement believes that the attack was completely unprovoked saying that they the current investigation has led them to the understanding that there was no motive or reason for the attack.
He said: 'We have determined that he acted alone in this murder…We do not have a motive for this heinous, unprovoked crime. And there’s no information the suspect and victims had any prior contact before these crimes took place.'
So far investigators have not learned of any contact that Jimenez had with his victims before, during, or after the shooting. They do not believe that Barajas' TikTok fame was related to the shooting in any way and there is no evidence that this was hired hit.
While officers can't rule it out, they have no reason to believe that the deadly violence had any connection to the violent nature of the horror movie on screen at the time of the double shooting.
Officers are not currently aware of Jimenez having any prior criminal history and are currently investigating how he attained the handgun.
They have confirmed that he was in possession of a ticket for the showing of 'The Forever Purge' where the shooting occurred and are 99% sure that he acted alone.
The Riverside County Gang Impact Team were used to help investigate the case but Jimenez is not a registered gang member.
Goodrich was pronounced dead on the scene from a gunshot to the back of the head, with Barajas rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Authorities said the two attended the movie together. It is not believed that they were dating as the teens both recently uploaded TikToks suggesting they were single.
Goodrich was shot in the back of the head at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings
Goodrich is being remembered by friends as a kind and gentle spirit
She was found dead after the dystopian horror movie ended
A GoFundMe has been created to help her family cover funeral cost
Goodrich was home for summer break from Grand Canyon University
The 18-year-old was attending college on a STEM scholarship
Goodrich is being remembered fondly by friends and family on social media
She was a certified lash technician
Barajas' GoFundMe page is filled with well-wishes and sweet memories of the friendly teen
The 19-year-old is recovering from his serious injuries at a local hospital
The TikTok star's most recent videos followed him enjoying a family vacation in Hawaii
Corona Police Department Cpl. Tobias Kouroubacalis gave a press conference on Wednesday to share updates on the case
Corona Police Department say that no murder weapon was found at the scene of the crime but a handgun matching the caliber of the casing found at the theater was recovered from the residence where Jimenez was arrested.
They added that there was no surveillance footage showing anyone shooting the teenagers before leaving the screening room as the cameras at the theater were not recording.
Just six tickets had been sold for the screening, with the youngsters' bodies only discovered at 9:35pm after the film had ended, by staff who were conducting a 'walk through' to clean the theater.
It is unclear if the other four people who attended the screening realized what had happened, or if those moviegoers were involved in the shooting.
Goodrich's cousin, Ashley Cole told CBS that the family is having trouble believing that the shooting was a random attack. 'When there's only six people in a movie theater, to me, that's not what I imagine someone that's not going with intentions to kill someone to do.'
Police are following up with the four other people who bought tickets to 'The Forever Purge.' Kouroubacalis told the Press Enterprise that he did not know if cops would be investigating whether the movie's theme could be related to the shooting.
The Forever Purge tells the story of Mexican migrants targeted by vigilantes during an annual US government 'purge', during which all crime is legal for 12 hours. It features frequent shoot-outs and violence, meaning the sounds of Barajas and Goodrich being shot may have been mistaken for the action onscreen by other moviegoers.
Cops are keeping an open mind as to whether the shooting may have been connected to the violent plot of The Forever Purge, which the teens were watching when they were shot
Goodrich, 18, was killed and a Barajas 19, was injured in a shooting at a movie theater (pictured) at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings in Corona, California, on Monday afternoon during a showing of the horror film The Forever Purge
Gunshots rang out inside the theater at about 11:45pm while the film was being shown
Cops said that the woman died at the scene and the man was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries
An employee found the teens in or near their seats while cleaning after the movie ended, the outlet reported. Cops have found no witnesses or surveillance camera footage indicating a possible suspect.
Employee Kailyn Dillon told CBS: 'During the actual movie time, no one apparently heard the gunshot.' She explained, 'I know that we do have security bag checks that we do on the daily and, unfortunately, I'm not sure if it just was missed or if it was in a holster on their belt.'
The Forever Purge is the fifth installment in the successful Purge franchise
It follows a migrant couple in a dystopian version of the United States in the year 2048 in which the government allows all crime for a 12-hour period - including murder
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Leven Rambin in a scene from 'The Forever Purge,' directed by Everardo Valerio Gout
has reached out to the Corona Police Department for more information and additional comment.
Employees told the Press Enterprise that the theater was closed on Tuesday, and gave out free tickets to moviegoers.
Goodrich was attending Grand Canyon University on a STEM scholarship. A GoFundMe page has been set up by Ashley-Starr Cole and Justice Burgess who say that 'her kindness, and gentle spirit will be remembered forever.'
Friends said they were stunned by her violent death, and were mystified as to why Goodrich had fallen victim to such a horrific gun crime.
Barajas is known online as @itsanthonymichael to his nearly million followers on TikTok. His last few TikTok's followed him enjoying a family vacation in Hawaii. A GoFundMe page has also been created for Barajas by his family.
His GoFundMe page is filled with condolences and sweet memories of the friendly teen. Tony Pan described his high school pal as 'one of the most genuine person I ever met.'
Another friend Isabel Munoz remembers how Barajas helped her overcome her fear of stage fright.
Investigators are working to determine if the horrific crime was committed by a random shooter who escaped the theater, or if the man or woman were responsible for the gunfire in a murder-suicide.
The city of Corona sits about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
The shooting came just one week after the ninth anniversary of the 2012 shooting at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado during a screening of The Dark Knight rises.
During that shooting, James Holmes set off tear gas grenades and shot into the crowd of hundreds - killing 12 people and injuring 70 others.
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