Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced April 24 that her office has charged two teenagers with murder in the August 2023 mass shooting at a Minneapolis backyard concert venue known as Nudieland that was attended by many members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
The charged individuals were both 17 years old at the time of the shooting, in which one person was killed and at least seven others were injured by gunfire. The Hennepin County Attorney’s office released details and comments on the arrests in a statement to media on Thursday.
The office charged both individuals by sealed warrant on Friday, April 12. The complaint was sealed because the individuals were not in custody at the time of charging.
Police arrested the first individual, currently age 18, on Tuesday, April 23, and he made his first appearance in juvenile court Wednesday. Media reports state that he is from Hinckley.
The second individual, from Onamia, was arrested later the same day and also had a court appearance on Wednesday.
Both were charged with six assault-related charges and one count of aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
The arrest warrants were unsealed after the arrests were made, and the two teens were identified. However, the Union-Times does not typically name juvenile suspects unless they are certified to stand trial in adult court.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office will decide whether to pursue adult certification of the case or keep it in juvenile court after certification studies are completed.
“Gun violence will not be tolerated in our communities,” Moriarty said. “This shooting, at what should have been a joyous event, rocked our LBGTQIA+ community, and increased fear among a community that is too often already under attack. We are committed to holding those who caused this harm accountable, and to offering, as we already have, our office’s resources to those who have been impacted by this senseless violence.”
The charges as revealed come after an investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. The two offices collaborated since this tragic shooting to review evidence and prepare the cases for charging.
“The identification of those believed to be responsible for the terrible events of August 11th is the culmination of the careful, steadfast, and meticulous collaboration between MPD investigators, forensic scientists, federal partners, and prosecutors,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. “The violence inflicted in this mass shooting angers me, and I am moved to compassion for those who were impacted by this terrible murder and attempted murders. I am proud of the dedicated members of the MPD who continue to serve above and beyond for the victims of crime.”
The allegations detailed in the criminal complaint are as follows.
Two males interacted with multiple people at the concert in the minutes before the shooting. Witnesses stated that the two males approached them and then made insensitive comments during an interaction characterized as “hostile” where the two men brandished firearms.
Other witnesses reported they overheard the respondents utter derogatory epithets about the sexual orientation of concert attendees.
Both suspects remained at the concert following the interaction before leaving together.
According to witnesses, the shooting began less than a minute after they left, coming from a yard next door. Both the location and number of bullet casings corroborated descriptions of where the victims and witnesses observed the suspects.
Upon arriving at the scene, officers encountered at least seven victims who had suffered gunshot wounds. One victim suffered a gunshot wound to his back and died shortly after law enforcement arrived.
Forensic examiners developed a DNA profile from a cigarette butt at the scene, which matched a known DNA profile of one of the suspects.
Investigators located surveillance videos from around the time and location of the shooting, confirming that two males matching the physical appearance of the suspects walked toward the direction of the party shortly before the shooting took place. A witness later identified the second suspect in the surveillance video.
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