Rylee Goodrich was 'fatally shot in head at point blank range' while watching Purge film & TikTok star is 'brain dead'

THE cheerleader killed in a movie theater on Monday was shot in the head at point-blank range while her TikTok star boyfriend has been left"brain dead," her father says.

Rylee Goodrich, 18, was found dead in the attack in California during a screening of the movie The Forever Purge and her date Anthony Barajas, 19, was severely injured.

As reported by The Sun yesterday, the cheerleader was on her first date with Barajas, whom she met over July 4 weekend.

Her father David Goodrich says that Rylee was texting her mother that the movie was boring just minutes before she was killed by the suspect, Joseph Jimenez.

He says his daughter "never even had a chance" after Jimenez shot her execution-style.

"He basically shot her point-blank behind her head," the 43-year-old told DailyMail.com.

David added that Brajas managed to swerve after he heard the first shot with the second bullet hitting him in the eye.

The shot did not kill the influencer but has left him in a critical condition.

"Then he shot her new boyfriend behind his head. He was able to flinch so it went through his eye, so he was able to survive," David, who works as a private investigator, said.

"I don't know if they've taken him off life support but I think he's brain dead."

'SWEET, SWEET BOY'

David said that she had been excited about the date and that he approved of the relationship despite being protective over her.

"My first inkling, he was this TikTok influencer, and I rolled my eyes like 'are you kidding me? Really, that's your future?'" he told DailyMail.com.

"But her mom was very much give the guy a chance.

"I met him once before he went to Hawaii a few weeks ago. And then he came back from Hawaii and she was so excited.

"This sweet, sweet boy came with a bag full of souvenirs for all of us. It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen an 18-year-old do," he added.

David said that the couple had gone to Rylee's favorite restaurant before heading to the movie.

"She texted my wife how boring and stupid it was, how she didn't like the movie. That was the last we heard from her," the grieving father added.

"It had to be right then."

'I LET HER DO HER LIFE'

Soccer player Barajas had more than 920,000 followers on TikTok and more than 40,000 followers on Instagram.

Yet David said that he approved of the teen who appeared to have his "head screwed on straight."

"I'm a big, strong guy with a bunch of tattoos, I'm very protective of her," he said.

"I let her do her life, but she knows I'm really protective and I wanted her to meet a guy who's going to be compassionate and sensitive, and he seemed like that guy.

"He told me about his online personality, his TikTok thing," David explained.

"He goes, 'I've monetized it, made a bit of money here and there but that's not my reality. I know it is what it is.' So he had his head screwed on straight."

SUSPECT ARRESTED

Jimenez, 20, was arrested on Tuesday night by Corona police and booked for murder, attempted murder, and robbery.

Rylee's wallet was found in his home and he reportedly told cops that he had been hearing voices before he attacked the couple.

However, David believes the suspect is pushing for an insanity plea deal.

"They found my daughter's wallet at his house, which means it was a robbery-homicide. From what I understand it was a random thing," he said.

"I'm not going to sit here and have a spitting contest about the second amendment. But an easy thing is to put in some metal detectors before you go in a movie theater.

"I was at a baseball game that night. They had to screen 40,000 people at a baseball game they have the wherewithal and finances to do that and you're telling me they don't in a movie theater? It's easy," David added.

"My daughter would be alive."

During the actual movie time, no one apparently heard the gunshot.

The shooting took place just before midnight on Monday at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings, California.

Staff reportedly discovered the victims while they were cleaning up, the New York Post reports.

Employee Kailyn Dillon told KCAL: “During the actual movie time, no one apparently heard the gunshot.”

The suspect is not thought to have known the victims, according to police, and a motive has not been released.

They do not think the theme of the movie is connected to the crime. 

The young couple was watching The Forever Purge – a dystopian action film where the government allows all crime including murder – when the shooting erupted.

Police didn’t recover a firearm at the scene.

However, during a search of Jiminez's home in El Cerrito on Tuesday, officers found a gun they believe was used to carry out the shooting.

A GoFundMe page has been created to help cover Rylee's funeral expenses.

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