Background: The apartment in Minneapolis, Minn., where Aisha Farah Yussuf was killed on May 9 (Google Maps). Inset: Henrietta Childress (Hennepin County Sheriff”s Office).
A Minnesota woman is behind bars after police say she fatally shot another woman during an argument over a small debt.
Henrietta Childress, 42, is in custody at the Hennepin County Jail after being charged with second-degree murder. According to reporting by local ABC affiliate KSTP, police said 32-year-old Aisha Farah Yussuf died from gunshot wounds on May 9 after an argument with Childress.
According to a probable cause statement reviewed by Law&Crime, Childress and Yussuf were at an apartment with two male witnesses, one of whom was the renter. The two women got into a verbal altercation before gunshots rang out.
The witness who lived at the apartment told police that Childress, Yussuf, and a man he did not know were at the apartment on May 9. Police said Childress, who goes by the nickname “Hershey,” started arguing with Yussuf about money. According to the witness, the women were “arguing over $50.” The witness told police that as the argument escalated, he went into the bathroom and heard the other man yell, “Hershey, what are you doing?” before he heard the sound of gunfire.
After the shooting, Childress and the other man were gone. The witness called police, and first responders arrived to find Yussuf with multiple gunshot wounds. She was brought to a nearby hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Police later identified the man who allegedly left the apartment with Childress and interviewed him. He told police that he saw Childress and Yussuf fighting over a “debt.” At some point, Childress went into a bedroom and allegedly came back with a pistol. He told police that he tried to stop Childress from firing, but “she fired multiple shots” at Yussuf, according to the probable cause statement. He and Childress quickly fled the apartment, and he told police that she “threatened” him before he got away from her.
According to police, a person matching Childress’ description was caught on the apartment’s surveillance camera leaving the building “in a hurry” moments after the shooting took place.
Police eventually caught up to Childress, who was read her rights and denied any knowledge of the alleged shooting. After police showed her the surveillance video, she admitted to being at the apartment, but continued to deny any involvement in Yussuf’s death, police say.
Childress was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. She is being held at the Hennepin County Jail on $1 million bond. Her next court date is scheduled for June 11.
