Bloomington, Minnesota police announced charges against two teenagers and one adult for their alleged involvement in a shooting at the Mall of America that left a 19-year-old man dead on Dec. 23.
FOX 9 MInneapolis reported that Taeshawn Adams-Wright, 18, was charged with second-degree intentional murder and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. The two teens, who were not identified because of their age, were charged in juvenile court with second-degree riot, while armed with a dangerous weapon.
A police car sits parked outside Nordstrom at Mall of America after a shooting Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Bloomington, Minn.
(AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Adams-Wright is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Friday, while the two juveniles were scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
MINNESOTA’S MALL OF AMERICA SHOOTING LEAVES 1 DEAD, 1 GRAZED, NO SUSPECT IN CUSTODY: POLICE
The Bloomington Police Department tweeted on Wednesday that the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office was granted an extension for the charging of five suspects for their alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Johntae Hudson at the Mall of America, just two days before Christmas.
Charges have not been announced for the other two suspects.
The shooting took place just before 8 p.m., when Hudson was fatally shot at the scene. FOX 9 Minneapolis reported that another person’s clothing was grazed by a bullet when shots flew inside the Nordstrom store.
An officer stands inside Nordstrom at Mall of America after a shooting, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Bloomington, Minn.
(AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
The person whose clothing was grazed by a bullet was described as a female and was reportedly not injured.
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Bloomington police said security footage showed that the shooting escalated from an altercation between two groups of young men.
According to the charges, FOX 9 Minneapolis reported, police were dispatched to the mall after receiving reports that a 19-year-old man had been shot several times.
When the officers arrived, they found shell casings from both a 9 mm and .40 caliber handgun near Hudson’s body.
Security officers speak inside a store at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., after reports of shots fired on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
(Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Although life-saving measures were taken to save Hudson, he was declared dead at the scene.
Surveillance footage, according to the charges, show an altercation between Adams-Wright and Hudson’s group of friends who were blocking someone from using the escalator.
The footage shows Hudson and two of his friends head toward an escalator when they were blocked from doing so. The group of men, including Adams-Wright, surrounded Hudson, the charges show, with both Adams-Wright and a juvenile holding firearm
Hudson tried to flee, the complaint says, when one of the juveniles pointed a gun toward Hudson, followed by a flash from the muzzle.
Adams-Wright then stood over Hudson in a shooting stance, the complaint says, when one camera captures Adams Wright allegedly holding a gun toward the spot where Hudson’s body was found, and a bright flash coming from the muzzle.
Several witnesses told police Adams-Wright was the person who argued with Hudson and shot him eight to 10 times, the charges noted.
