Fargo police on scene the morning after deadly Dec. 3, 2025 shooting (photo/KVRR TV)
FARGO (KFGO) – The mother of a Fargo man who had been charged with murder in a downtown Fargo shooting but later cleared says she never doubted her son.
Tyrque Jones, 20, has been released from the Hennepin County Jail after his arrest in Minneapolis four months after the shooting death of 19-year-Azeem Holmes outside a downtown bar. Shannon Jackson, appearing on KFGO Afternoons Live with guest host Dane DeKrey, said she pleaded with police to further investigate.
“I advised them (police) that my son would be willing to talk to them in order to show faith and to prove the fact if we were able to at the same time, review the evidence that they had against him, so we took that into account that those were ignored, and the fact that his life was in danger,” said Jackson.
Jackson said her son was hit in the head with a liquor bottle outside District 64, a downtown bar.
“My son took off running, (when shots were fired), he did not see anything that happened after that, directly,” said Jackson. “We have video surveillance there to show everything that happened and my son told me, there’s cameras down there, they can prove that I did not do this, I did not shoot anyone, I did not have a gun, he does not own a gun, he is not the person,” Jackson added.
“Certainly regret any distress caused by the earlier identification and arrest,” said Captain Matt Christensen in announcing the dismissal of charges.
“Although we are also frustrated that Mr. Jones did not come forward on his own to provide a statement during the initial stages of this investigation. While I’m sensitive to the fact this development may be upsetting or confusing to some, please know that probable cause for an arrest does not equate to guilt. That is part of the reason why the interview of someone determined to be a suspect is so crucial.”
“Yeah, I mean that’s extremely unfortunate and again, like I said, it would have been nice to have this information four months ago. But to tell the public, I think we still live in a safe community. Certainly encourage the public to come forward and bring any information that they have that we might not have that would help us locate this person.”
Christensen says it’s a complicated case with a lot of witnesses.
“We have been looking for other people we know were there and we think might have crucial information that would help this investigation, it’s just that we can’t locate them or they’re not willing to talk to us,” Christensen explained.
Jones’ close friend, was Elijah Hughes was shot to death outside a south Fargo apartment building about a half hour after the downtown shooting of Holmes.
A Jamestown man C’Anundre Douglas, 20, has been charged with murder in the shooting of Hughes.
Jackson said she believes her son is in danger. Because of that, she won’t disclose whether he plans to return to Fargo.
The Cass County State’s Attorneys office dropped the charges against him after a jail interview conducted by two Fargo police detectives in Minneapolis.
Police have not said whether they’ve identified a new suspect.
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