Corner store owned by Somoolie "peace-loving" muslims becomes scene of bloodshed: 3 dead

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http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=834911&catid=14

Police look for 2 in slaying of 3 Somalis at store
Updated: 5 hrs ago

MINNEAPOLIS -- Police appealed to the public for tips Thursday about an attack at a corner market that left three Somali businessmen dead, and they backed away from describing it as an attempted robbery gone bad.

"The people in any part of this city should not only have great sympathy for the family of the victims but be outraged and stirred to actions that these people will be brought to justice," Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said.

Investigators were searching for two people who, police said, entered Seward Market and Halal Meats Wednesday night and killed three adult men.

Police Chief Tim Dolan is calling the shooters "cold-blooded killers" and warns they are very dangerous. At a Thursday morning news conference, Dolan urged anyone with information about Wednesday night's killings at Seward Market and Halal Meats to come forward.

Police say they don't know the motive behind the killings. The initial call came in as a robbery, but on Thursday authorities backed away from saying it was an attempted robbery. Instead, they say there are looking at several scenarios.

"We have some suspected motives but we won't get into the details on that, we are just not sure," Dolan said.

Dolan says there are a large number of security cameras in the store, and that surveillance video is excellent. He also says there were a number of witnesses to the crime, and that they are cooperating.

The three victims, all adult men, were members of the city's large community of Somali immigrants. Dolan says the killers are also believed to be Somali.

The triple homicide happend around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday night at Seward Market & Halal Meat located near 24th and Franklin Avenues.

The store is in an area south of downtown with a significant population of Somali immigrants. Although police have not confirmed the identities of the victims, leaders in the local Somali community say they are all Somali men who worked in the store, including its owner. The men are described by a local Somali spokesman as decent members of the community who had nothing to do with gangs.

"We've never seen in Minneapolis that three Somali young guys were shot and killed at the same time on the same spot," Somali spokesman Omar Jamal said. "So there is an investiagation going now. And we're asking the community to tell the police if they saw anything. Therefore those guys will be brought to justice."

Police Sgt. William Palmer said no suspects are in custody for the homicides.

Seward Market and Halal Meat, is in the city's Seward neighborhood, a middle-class area south of downtown with a significant population of Somali immigrants. Sgt. Palmer decribes the area as "a good neighborhood."

Rybak said Thursday, "I think it's a specific tragedy to a community that has come here to escape violence now has lost three members to violence."

Rybak and Dolan had planned to toute the decline of crime in the city at a news conference Thursday.

Wednesday's deaths brought the number of homicides in Minneapolis to four, just six days into the new year. The first homicide of 2010 happened late Saturday when Dontae Johnson, 31, of Champlin, was shot and found lying in the street. There have been no arrests in that case.

Minnesota has the largest population of Somali immigrants of any U.S. state. Omar Jamal, an advocate for the Somali community in Minnesota, said its members are "in a state of shock and disbelief."

"Most of the shootings in the community involve gangs and drugs. But these were Somali businessmen. They were decent members of the community," Jamal said.

The triple slayings come after a year in which homicides fell sharply in Minneapolis, as they did in many other cities. The city had 19 homicides in 2009, the lowest number in more than two decades and far below the city's high of 97 in 1995.

City officials are asking anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward with information. Calls are being taken by Minneapolis Sgt Kjos at 612-673-3786.

2 Teens Charged With Murder In Triple Homicide
Jan 14, 2010 5:59 pm US/Central

Ahmed Shire Ali (left) and Mahdi Hassan Ali (right) were charged with murder in the first degree in connection with a triple homicide in Minneapolis.​

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ― Prosecutors say two customers were hiding in a freezer at the Seward Market in South Minneapolis, after two teens entered to allegedly 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 each. Police say the two teens are not related.

"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 the store clerk, Elmi, and his cousin, Warfa.

Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said they could not tell initially 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.

http://wcco.com/local/triple.homicide.charges.2.1426080.html