Sep. 11—- The juvenile charged in the fatal shooting of a teen he described as his
is now charged as an adult.
Jamil Mohamed Abdille, 18, of Willmar, is charged with six counts of second-degree murder, two counts of third-degree murder, and four counts of second-degree assault. He was 17 at the time of the charged offenses.
Charges allege that Abdille and the victim, Joel William Eberle Jr., of
were both shooting at rival gang members when Eberle was shot and killed from behind. The description of events in court documents say Abdille was walking behind him.
The West Central Tribune identified the victim through a public data request to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.
According to the Medical Examiner’s Office, the teen died on a roadway in the 1800 block of Seventh Avenue Southeast in Willmar on May 12, 2025, after he was shot. The manner of death was ruled a homicide. An autopsy showed the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.
Court documents say Abdille told officers when arrested on May 17 that he did not want to talk about the shooting because his best friend had died. He said he was not there, did not know anything about it and requested an attorney, ending the interview.
The assault charges against Abdille allege that he fired at two brothers, identified only by initials.
Abdille was in custody of the Kandiyohi County Jail as of Thursday. After he made his first appearance as an adult on Wednesday in Kandiyohi County District Court, he was ordered to be held on $1 million bail with conditions for release or $2 million bail without conditions. He had been held at Prairie Lakes Youth Programs since
On May 12, 2025, Willmar Police Department officers were dispatched to the 1800 block of Seventh Avenue Southeast on a
around 11 p.m. Upon arrival, one of the first officers on scene observed a body lying in the street in a pool of blood. Medical personnel arrived on scene and confirmed the teen was deceased.
Officers located .223 rifle casings lying in the street about 10 to 15 feet away from the deceased. Two spent 9mm casings were found around his body, and one live 9mm casing was found directly next to his head.
According to the criminal complaint, officers determined based on the position of the .223 rifle shell casings that someone was standing behind him while firing. Bullet holes located at nearby residences appeared to show that both a 9mm and .223 rifle were fired in the same direction.
Based on the position of the body, an officer at the scene believed that it may have been moved before police arrived. The officer noted it appeared someone had rolled the body and possibly removed a weapon, as the victim’s right arm was across his chest and the other was lying at his side.
Officers spoke with two juvenile females who had arrived home from the movies shortly before the shooting. Two males waited for them outside in a car while the girls went inside to speak to their mother.
One of the juveniles was outside before the shooting. She stated when she went back outside that she saw several people wearing black and holding guns coming toward them. She then ran back inside the house.
Both girls were inside their home when the shots were fired, and the two males fled the scene in their car, according to the complaint. Both girls stated they did not believe their friends were armed because they had just returned from the movie theater.
When officers spoke with one of the boys, he said another car had pulled up next to them and “started talking smack to them” while he and his brother were waiting for the girls to come back outside. He told officers that before the car took off, he had agreed to fight them.
About two minutes after the incident, he said his brother pointed out that two people carrying guns were walking toward them from the intersection of 19th Street and Seventh Avenue Southeast. He told officers that the two people on foot began shooting and he drove away.
He also said he and his brother were both unarmed when the shooting occurred. According to the complaint, no evidence was located in the car during a search and no bullet holes or marks from the shooting were found on the vehicle.
At approximately 10:58 p.m. that night, video captured nearby shows two individuals walking toward Seventh Avenue Southeast. According to the complaint, police determined the clothing worn by one of the parties matched what Eberle was wearing. The other person captured on video is believed to be Abdille.
Both appear to be concealing firearms as they walk toward a parked vehicle. According to the complaint, Abdille is walking behind Eberle as the two approach the car.
The car then accelerates and takes a sharp U-turn before fleeing westbound toward Lakeland Drive. Several gunshots are heard in the videos as the vehicle flees.
At 11:02 p.m., screams yelling Eberle’s nickname can be heard on the video.
The criminal complaint states that Abdille is a known gang member within the city of Willmar and has been involved in numerous assaults and shootings against rival gangs.
Six of the various counts against Abdille are charged as “for the benefit of a gang,” which results in a greater penalty if convicted.