MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Two Minneapolis men are accused of opening gunfire on at least three people outside a Hudson, Wis., liquor store on Sunday, according to charges filed Tuesday in St. Croix County Court.
The two men, 22-year-old Guled Bile Abdi and 26-year-old Ahmed Farah Hirsi, both of Minneapolis, are each facing up to 15 counts in connection with the incident. They include six counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime, three counts of first-degree reckless injury as a party to a crime and six counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety as party to a crime.
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.
Investigators said it appears the shootings may have been gang-related as the two suspects were known gang members.
Witnesses said 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 went back outside, another vehicle pulled up. Authorities said some sort of conversation took place, then gunfire erupted and the suspect vehicle fled. The two men were later spotted at a Bloomington, Minn., hotel and taken into custody after they attempted to dump evidence from the shooting.
Two of the shooting victims, 23-year-old Abdirahman Abdirizak Hersi from Minneapolis and 21-year-old Mohamed Deballa Hussein from Savage, were taken to Regions Hospital and released. A 28-year-old woman, Fartun Ibrahim Aidid, was being treated for a gunshot wound to her abdomen.
The two suspects are being held by Bloomington Police but are expected to be transported to the St. Croix County Jail. The case is still under investigation.
