A 19-year-old Minneapolis man faces several charges in reference to two September drive-by shootings that happened about three hours apart, one in all which injured three teenagers after they left the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on the last night of the season.
Musharaf Zainab Arab was charged by warrant last week with three counts of aiding and abetting attempted murder and two counts of aiding and abetting drive-by shooting. He was arrested on the costs Friday and remained jailed Monday in lieu of $2 million bail.
In accordance with the criminal criticism, officers responded to a shots-fired call near a car parking zone within the 1000 block of North Snelling Avenue, south of Wynne Avenue, about 10:20 p.m. Sept. 2. They found a 17-year-old who’d been shot within the leg.
The teenager told police he was walking to his friend’s automobile with others after the Fair, heard gunshots and realized he’d been shot. He hid by railroad tracks until officers arrived. He said he didn’t know anyone who would need to hurt him.
The 2 other shooting victims arrived at area hospitals in private vehicles. A 17-year-old with a gunshot wound to his calf showed up at Regions, and an 18-year-old who’d been shot within the neck arrived at Hennepin County Medical Center.
Additionally they told police they were shot within the car parking zone and didn’t know why. One said he thought it was fireworks at first until he saw blood running down his neck. The opposite said he heard 10 gunshots in quick succession before all of them scattered.
Officers recovered 53 spent casings in three different locations beneath the Snelling Avenue bridge, just east of the car parking zone. Evaluation of the casings showed they were fired by three guns.
Surveillance video showed a blue sedan park under the bridge. Several people got out, while the motive force stayed put. Shooters fired on the three teens from the road, while one other fired from a gravel area by the train tracks. The shooters got back contained in the sedan, and it left.
Other surveillance video that caught the sedan showed it resembled a blue Volkswagen.
About three hours later, at 1:16 a.m. Sept. 3, deputies were sent to a drive-by shooting at a BP gas station in Little Canada, just east of Interstate 35E along Little Canada Road.
Surveillance video showed a blue sedan stopped on the intersection of Centerville Road and Little Canada Road. The sedan circled back and went out of sight. About two minutes later, gunshots were fired at 4 men who stood outside cars on the gas station pumps. The boys fled, apparently unhurt.
Deputies recovered seven casings near the gas station.
Investigators discovered the sedan was a Volkswagen Jetta owned by Arab, the criticism says, and that it had been involved in a gun-pointing incident involving three suspects Aug. 27 in Minneapolis.
Location data of Arab’s cellphone place it in the world of each shootings, the criticism says.
Evaluation of the casings show the identical 9mm handgun and .40-caliber handgun were utilized in each shootings.
Nobody else has been charged in reference to the shootings, Ramsey County Attorney’s Office spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein said Monday.