MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Police investigators are confident they’ve arrested the two men believed responsible for Sunday’s shooting outside a Hudson, Wisconsin liquor store.
Police were called to the River City Center complex downtown at 9:22 a.m. on Sunday after witnesses reported multiple gunshots. The shooting left three people injured, including a 28-year-old Hopkins woman, who is in critical condition at Regions Hospital.
While investigators can’t say with certainty that the two groups of people knew each other, it’s beginning to appear the shooting may have been gang related.
Witnesses say the shooting happened moments after one car carrying five people stopped at the Spirits Seller liquor store in downtown Hudson. Two of the vehicle’s occupants went inside to make a purchase but were refused because of a credit card problem.
When they came out of the store to get back into their vehicle, trouble was waiting for them.
“They went back outside and that’s when the other vehicle pulled up,” said Hudson Police Chief Marty Jensen. “There was some talking between them but they didn’t open fire right away. It looks like a conversation was going on between the two cars. That’s when gunfire erupted and the Cadillac sped away.”
Officers spotted the car driving along Interstate-494 in Eagan and followed it to a Hampton Inn, near the Mall of America. Bloomington Police arrested the two men walking near the hotel and seized evidence believed linked to the shooting. Still, the gun used in the shooting has not yet been recovered.
Meantime, two of the shooting victims were released from Regions Hospital. They are 23-year-old Abdirahman Abdirizak Hersi from Minneapolis and 21-year-old Mohamed Deballa Hussein from Savage.
The 28-year-old woman, Fartun Ibrahim Aidid, is being treated for a gunshot wound to her abdomen.
Hudson Police are getting assistance from officers with the Minnesota Gang Strike Force. The three victims have all been in trouble before, including aggravated robbery, assault, burglary and disorderly conduct.
“I don’t want to say it was a drug deal or not, but I could say it might be gang related,” Chief Jensen said.
