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- calendar_today October 15, 2026
Charges Filed in Hwy. 100 Drive-By Shooting
Authorities have charged Abdisalan Muhumed Ali, a 19-year-old Blaine resident, in connection with a recent drive-by shooting on Hwy. 100 in St. Louis Park. The incident, which took place on September 30, saw shots fired into an occupied vehicle, leaving the driver injured. Law enforcement officials suspect the shooting is tied to ongoing violence linked to local Somali gangs.
Details of the Incident
The St. Louis Park Police Department responded to reports of gunfire on the southbound lanes of Hwy. 100 near the Excelsior Boulevard exit around 6 p.m. The victim's vehicle, a white Honda Accord, had six bullet strikes. The driver suffered a gunshot wound to the ankle and pulled over, while a front seat passenger escaped without injury.
The passenger told police that both he and the driver had dined at a Columbia Heights restaurant and were en route to Minnetonka when attacked. He identified the suspect vehicle as a black Hyundai Sonata, registered to Ali, which he had seen earlier at the same restaurant and noted its heavily tinted windows.
Law Enforcement Investigation and Ballistics Evidence
Surveillance footage captured the victim’s Honda pulling into the restaurant parking lot around 5:15 p.m., with the suspect's Hyundai arriving approximately eight minutes later. After leaving the lot at 5:36 p.m., the Honda was allegedly tailed by the suspect vehicle. Authorities report that on Hwy. 100, the Hyundai pulled up parallel to the Honda before the shooting occurred. The suspect then sped away, exiting onto Vernon Avenue South at high speed.
Police collected several discharged cartridge casings—both .45 and 9mm caliber—at the scene. Ballistics tests later linked the .45 caliber casings to multiple other shootings in the region, suggesting a pattern connected to gang-related shootings and gang violence among Somali American young men in the Twin Cities suburbs.
Connections to Other Regional Shootings
Analysis connected the .45 caliber casings from the Hwy. 100 shooting with:
- A September 5 shooting in Anoka County that injured three people.
- A February 13 incident in Burnsville, where the same victim was allegedly targeted.
- A July 19 shooting in Minneapolis. In that case, suspects fired at a vehicle and two houses, leaving behind 68 shell casings of several calibers, including 9mm, 10mm, and .45. Ballistics also showed that 9mm casings from the Minneapolis shooting were linked to a Glock belonging to an associate of Ali, with whom he communicated 26 times between September 5 and October 4.
The criminal complaint also alleges that Ali is associated with the “1300” gang.
Suspect's Arrest and Other Charges in the Region
St. Louis Park police arrested Ali and booked him into Hennepin County Jail on Tuesday morning. His first appearance in court was scheduled for Thursday afternoon. As of Thursday, no attorney information for Ali was available.
The surge in gang violence and shootings in the Twin Cities suburbs has drawn public attention and controversy, stoking debates over law enforcement responses and community impacts. Recently, four men were charged for their roles in a fight and a subsequent retaliatory shooting connected to an October 2 incident at an Eden Prairie High School football game. A fifth man, Adam Abdihakeem Adam, 18, was also charged with assault for allegedly carrying out that shooting.
Ongoing Concerns About Gang-Related Shootings
The recent hwy 100 shooting, along with connected cases, underscores escalating concerns about gun violence, gang-related shootings, and retaliatory attacks involving Somali gangs in the region. Ballistics testing and phone data continue to play a crucial role in law enforcement investigations, as authorities work to address these patterns in the Twin Cities area.
Source: startribune.com.
