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MINNEAPOLIS, January 16, 2010 – Prosecutors said two customers were
hiding in a freezer at the Seward Market in South Minneapolis, after two
teens entered to commit a robbery. When they emerged from their hiding
spot, three men were dead.
"It's a tragic, senseless shooting," said Hennepin County Attorney Mike
Freeman. "It's a robbery gone bad."
The teens, Mahdi Hassan Ali, 17, of Minneapolis and Ahmed Shire Ali, 17,
of Minneapolis, were charged with first-degree murder on Thursday. The
two will be tried as adults for the triple homicide that occurred on
Jan. 6. Freeman said they will go to a grand jury trial and they've
asked for $3 million bails for the two.
"When you lose loved ones, it's really, you don't worry about whether
they're from your community or any place else," said Abdi Mohamed, a
cousin to Mohamed Warfa and Osman Elmi, two of the men killed. "They're
criminals. They're cold-blooded killers."
According to the criminal complaint, the two teens entered the store, on
2431 East Franklin Ave. South, in masks for a robbery. Mahdi Ali
directed everyone in the store by gunpoint to lie on the floor. He then
demanded money from Warfa and Elmi, the two employees of the store.
Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said they could not tell from the
surveillance videos if robbery was the original intent, however, through
further investigation they found it was just a robbery gone bad.
Two other customers were hiding in a freezer during the incident. They
told police that when the two teens arrived, they were told not to move
by Ahmed Ali. They heard Mahdi Ali yell, "This is a robbery." Ahmed Ali
demanded one of the customers' cell phone and went through the pockets
of the other customer. That's when gunshots were fired and Ahmed Ali ran
toward the front of the store.
Prosecutors said Mahdi Ali has been identified by store surveillance
video as the gunman. Mahdi Ali had Warfa and Elmi on the floor when
another customer walked in and disrupted the robbery. Mahdi Ali
immediately turned and shot the customer, later identified as Anwar
Mohammed, who fell to the ground, according to the charges.
"You have to wonder if they even understand what human life means,"
Mohamed said. "So we're not concerned whether they were 17 or (of) the
community. We just very happy that they apprehended them."
After shooting Mohammed, Mahdi Ali ran out of the store and Warfa
followed him. Within seconds, prosecutors said Mahdi Ali shot Warfa and
surveillance videos show Warfa falling to the ground near the back
entryway of the store.
Mahdi Ali then went back into the store, chased down Elmi and shot him,
as he was attempting to make a phone call, according to the charges.
Mahdi Ali then left the store again, firing a second shot into Mohammed
as he left.
Mohamed said when he got to this part of the criminal complaint, he
couldn't read anymore.
"To be honest with you, we were hoping it wouldn't be so senseless," he
said. "I couldn't finish reading it. I couldn't finish reading it. When
I got to the part where he was chasing and just shot Osman, that was
heartbreaking. To notice that he was trying to get a cell phone and make
a call, and here, he comes back and shoots him. It's just heartbreaking
to notice that they died that way."
According to the charges, Ahmed Ali admitted that he and Mahdi Ali went
together to the market to rob the store. He also stated that he and
Mahdi Ali used a gun in the robbery and that Mahdi Ali shot three men
during the incident.
"What makes the whole thing so tragic is how gruesome it is," Mohamed
said. "So lives are lost, and you can live with that, but how they died,
just makes it even more harder to accept it."
Freeman said though it appears only one of the teens did the shooting,
under the law, because a robbery -- a felony -- was being committed,
it's as if each of them shot the gun.
"Only one shot the gun, but under felony murder, if you're in the act of
committing a felony, a robbery, and someone dies, you're chargeable
under the felony murder rule," he said.
Ahmed Ali stated that he did not carry a weapon but did confront the two
customers in the freezer and kept them from interfering with the
robbery, according to charges. Ahmed Ali was the teen who turned himself
in last Saturday night, Dolan said.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office conducted autopsies of the
victims and ruled all three deaths a homicide, from the result of
gunshot wounds.
Mohamed said he was very close to both of his cousins and that Elmi was
"looking forward to the American dream." Elmi had just become a U.S.
citizen last November and Mohamed said he was planning to travel back
home and take a little bit of a break.
Warfa was a father of four, and Mohamed said he was hoping "this would
be their year."
Ahmed Ali and Mahdi Ali are currently in custody.
If convicted of the first-degree murder charges, the two could face a
penalty of life in prison.
Both Dolan and Freeman thanked the Somali community for their assistance
with the investigation and thanked the prosecutors and investigators who
worked nonstop for more than a week on the case.
"This was a difficult case and it took a whole lot of work, and we're
very, very pleased to be here at this time announcing these charges,"
Dolan said.
Source: WCCO, Friday, January 15, 2010
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