TikTok Star Anthony Barajas Dies After Corona Movie Theater Shooting

CORONA (CBSLA) - A second teenager has died after a shooting at a Corona movie theater Monday night.

Anthony Barajas, who was on life support after the shooting, passed away early Saturday morning, according to the Corona Police Department.

Barajas was a TikTok sensation with nearly one million followers.

Police say Joseph Jimenez was the gunman who shot Rylee Goodrich, 18, and Barajas, 19, both of Corona, during a Monday night showing of "The Forever Purge" at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings movie theater. Goodrich was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jimenez, 20, was initially charged with murder and attempted murder, with sentencing enhancements for using a firearm causing death, great bodily injury, and lying in wait, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. He is being held without bail and was arraigned Friday afternoon in Riverside.

The Corona Police Department is working with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office to add an additional count of first-degree murder against Jimenez, officers said.

After identifying Jimenez as the suspect, authorities took him into custody while serving a search warrant in the 19000 block of Envoy Avenue in El Cerrito, outside Corona city limits. During the search, prosecutors say a handgun of the same caliber as the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting was found by detectives.

A motive for the shooting is still not known, and prosecutors say there is no known connection between the victims and Jimenez. The attack appears to have been random and unprovoked, District Attorney's officials said.

The Barajas Family released a statement Saturday that said the following:

"With deep faith and the love of family and friends surrounding us, we are mourning the heart-wrenching passing of our beloved Anthony Barajas. From his quick smile to his compassionate heart, Anthony's presence was a gift to all who knew him. 

Please provide our family with the grace of space and privacy as we search for ways to keep Anthony's sweet spirit and legacy alive." 

Father Walter Jenkins, president of Mater Dei High School where Anthony Barajas graduated, released the following statement with permission from the family:

"From all that we knew of him during his time at Mater Dei and beyond, Anthony Barajas, '19, held at the center of his life his faith in Jesus Christ and his love for those around him. Only our faith in God and our love for one another can comfort us now from the crushing grief of his death. We pray for Anthony. We pray for his extraordinary family. We pray for an end to the kind of violence that led to this wasteful heartbreak.    

Anthony was proudly and always a Monarch. As Monarchs, we stand proud of Anthony. And we stand with his family in this difficult time.
 
Under the patronage of Mater Dei, the Mother of God, who was herself a woman who knew great sorrow, we seek comfort and strength."

GoFundMe pages have been created for the families of Goodrich and Barajas.