15-year-old accused of random killing of innocent woman driving down Minnesota road: cops

A teenager has been arrested in connection to the random killing of a woman in Minnesota, police said.

On Feb. 16, Julia Yuliya Li was shot and killed as she was driving, according to police in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"It appears she was just a person going about her daily business, driving down the street when the suspect open fired and shot her," Public Information Office Steve Linders told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Police responded to the scene around 6:45 p.m. and found Li inside a vehicle with a gunshot wound, according to St. Paul police. Officers tried to provide aid and medics took her to the hospital, where she died a short time later.

On Feb. 22, police announced they arrested an unnamed 15-year-old in connection to Li’s killing. He was charged with second-degree murder and other counts. The teen is being held at Hennepin County jail.

“Sadly, this is yet another example of how our system has failed to put victims first, failed to help a young person going down a dangerous and destructive path, and failed our entire community,” St. Paul police Chief Todd Axtell said. “If every spoke in the criminal justice wheel had worked to hold this teen accountable for previous crimes, Ms. Li would be here, the suspect would have received help and consequences to right his course, and our city would not have suffered the trauma of echoing gunshots.”

Axtell added he spoke to Li’s husband and told him that his “heart breaks for his entire family.”

“This tragedy was entirely preventable,” Axtell said.