Man charged in 2013 fatal shooting at Minneapolis gas station upon return to U.S.

MINNEAPOLIS — A man who allegedly fled the country after fatally shooting a man in October of 2013 now faces charges.

The shooting happened shortly before midnight on Oct. 30, 2013, at a gas station at the intersection of Washington Avenue South and 12th Avenue South.

The 26-year-old victim was found in the driver's seat of a car with multiple gunshot wounds to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Nearby, officers found a torn piece of cloth that appeared to be from a letterman-style jacket, charges say.

Documents say that the victim had been on the phone with a woman eight minutes before the shooting. The woman told officers that she had driven to the gas station with her friend and another man in order to buy weed from the victim. She was arrested and made several calls from jail allegedly indicating that she was covering for the shooter, charges state.

Surveillance video from the scene showed 30-year-old Suleiman Ali getting out of the woman's car and going into the gas station before the shooting. He was wearing a letterman-style jacket, documents state.

When police were investigating the case in 2013, they learned that Ali had fled the state, likely to Somalia.

The case stayed cold until mid-2022, when another woman called police saying that on the day of the shooting, Ali had called her and asked for money to help him leave the country. Ali allegedly admitted to shooting the victim.

In March of 2024, investigators learned Ali was back in the United States, but living outside of Minnesota. Investigators obtained a search warrant for his DNA, and had his out-of-state probation officer execute it.

Ali is currently in custody at the Hennepin County Jail. He is charged with second-degree murder.