2 Teens Charged in Mpls. Store Killings

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Two 17-year-olds accused of fatally shooting three people during a botched robbery at a corner market in south Minneapolis were charged Thursday with first-degree murder.

Mahdi Hassan Ali and Ahmed Shire Ali, both of Minneapolis, were each charged on three counts of murder in the Jan. 6 killings at Seward Market and Halal Meat. The teens were charged as adults. They are both Somali and are not related.

"It's a tragic, senseless shooting. It's a robbery gone bad," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said. "They are looking at life sentences."

The charges and reason behind the shootings came as a relief to relatives of the victims and members of the Somali community, some of whom had feared the killings indicated that clan disputes originating in their war-torn homeland had boiled over to the U.S.

"People are at their wits end about this," said Saeed Fahia, executive director of Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota. "Why would young people like that be doing something like this?"

The victims were Osman Jama Elmi, 28, of St. Paul; Mohamed Abdi Warfa, 30, of Savage; and Anwar Salah Mohammed, 31, of Brooklyn Park. Family members say Elmi was working at the store and his cousin, Warfa, was visiting. Mohammed was a customer.

According to authorities and details in the criminal complaint, Mahdi Ali and Ahmed Ali walked into the Somali-run market at about 7:45 p.m. wearing masks. Ahmed Ali went toward the back of the store and tried to rob two customers, while Mahdi Ali ordered Elmi and Warfa to come in front of the cash register and get down on the ground.

Video surveillance, which did not contain audio, shows Mahdi Ali appearing to demand money from Elmi and Warfa. Witnesses told police they heard him yell, "This is a robbery."

The video shows Mohammed then entering the store and interrupting the robbery. Mahdi immediately turned and shot him. The video shows Mahdi running from the store. Warfa tried to follow but fell to the ground near the entrance, the complaint said.

The video shows Ahmed Ali fleeing the store, passing Mohammed and Warfa.

Mahdi Ali ran back into the store, chased down and shot Elmi as he attempted to make a cell phone call. As Mahdi Ali left the store a second time, he fired another shot into Mohammed, the complaint said.

The complaint said Ahmed Ali admitted he and Mahdi Ali had planned a robbery at the store but that Mahdi shot all three victims. He told police he didn't have a weapon but that he kept witnesses in the back of the store from interfering. The two witnesses were later found hiding in a freezer.

Under Minnesota law, if someone is murdered during the commission of a felony, both suspects can be charged with the murder, even if only one pulled the trigger, Freeman said.

Both teens were in custody and it was not immediately clear whether they had attorneys. The public defenders office had not received the case by Thursday afternoon.

Minneapolis Police Capt. Amelia Huffman said both youths have had prior contact with police, but Ahmed Ali's interaction was "insignificant." She said Mahdi Ali was previously involved in a handful of low-level incidents, but nothing violent. Authorities could not say why the teens targeted this store or whether they knew the owners.

Huffman said the incident was not connected to a larger pattern of robberies and that authorities were not seeking additional suspects.

Freeman said the case would go to a grand jury.

Police Chief Tim Dolan thanked the Somali community for cooperating in the case.

"It was a difficult case and it took a whole lot of work," he said.

Fethi Mohammed, the brother of Anwar Mohammed, said he was glad to hear that the teens were charged. He said he wanted prosecutors to seek the death penalty but because that is not allowed in Minnesota, he wants the boys put away for life.

"Until we see the final (sentence) we are not going to get peace," Mohammed said. "Don't give them a chance to come walk on the street again."

A number of Somali murders have gone without convictions in recent years as witnesses have backed out of testifying, but members of the community don't think that will be the case this time because the victims were older and were not involved in gangs.

Ayderus Ali, a court interpreter, said the case made many in the Somali community realize the value of working with the police to stop violence.

"The next victim could be you or your loved ones," he said. "This is not something that we can longer hide or keep silent."

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