$3M bail each in Seward killings

Relatives say two teens decided to rob a store to get a car out of the impound lot. Charges say the robbery left three dead. They entered the store shortly after 7:30 p.m. wearing ski masks and looking for money. One talked tough to a couple of customers in a grocery aisle; the other pointed a gun at two men behind the front counter. "This is a robbery!" he shouted. Seconds later, three East African immigrants lay dead in the bloody mess of a robbery turned fatal.

Those details were spelled out publicly for the first time by prosecutors Thursday as they charged two 17-year-old boys with first-degree murder in the Jan. 6 shooting at Seward Market and Halal Meats at E. Franklin and 25th Avenues in Minneapolis.

The triple homicide -- coming just days after the city reported that 2009 had recorded one of the lowest murder rates in years -- shocked a neighborhood and galvanized the city's East African community into helping police find the killers.

The defendants, from Minneapolis, were identified as Mahdi Hassan Ali, the alleged gunman, and Ahmed Shire Ali. Each is scheduled to appear in court Friday at 1:30 p.m. The teenagers are friends and not related.

"It's a tragic, senseless shooting," said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, who added that his office will seek to set bail at $3 million for each.

Gruesome details

The criminal complaint released Thursday detailed the chaotic moments leading to the shooting. Within seconds of shouting "This is a robbery," Mahdi Ali allegedly chased down and shot a store employee who tried to call for help, then pumped a second bullet into a customer whom he had shot moments earlier. The complaint didn't say what led to the robbery.

Relatives of Ahmed Ali, however, told the Star Tribune that he told them that Mahdi Ali needed money to get a car out of the city impound lot. Police wouldn't comment about that scenario. Ahmed Ali's family said they were told the car had been towed days before.

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