Blaine man charged with aiding Northtown Mall shooting suspect

Northtown Mall shooting latest

Northtown Mall in Blaine is making headlines after a man has been arrested following gunfire in the parking, just outside mall doors. FOX 9’s Rob Olson has the latest developments from the weekend.

BLAINE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A 20-year-old Blaine man is accused of aiding an offender to avoid arrest in connection with a fatal shooting in the Best Buy parking lot at Northtown Mall earlier this month, according to charges filed in Anoka County Court.

Ayub Abdullahi Mohamed was charged on Tuesday in connection with the incident, which left a 15-year-old boy dead.

Fatal Northtown Mall shooting

What we know:

According to the complaint, authorities were called to the Best Buy parking lot at Northtown Mall at about 5:13 p.m. on June 6 on a report of a person who had been shot. When officers got to the scene, they learned multiple people involved had fled the area.

The victim was located in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the chest. The victim was taken to Mercy Hospital, where he later died.

The complaint states a Best Buy employee called 911 and said three male suspects ran from the shooting, first into Northtown Mall, then out the door towards Sky Zone. Officers located one of the suspects, identified as Mohamed.

Northtown Mall goes into lockdown

The backstory:

The incident prompted Northtown Mall to go into lockdown while officers searched for suspects.

Mohamed talks with officers

What they're saying:

He was detained, and officers found a gun magazine in one of his socks. The complaint states Mohamed told officers he was in the car with the victim and one of the other suspects. They came to Best Buy to pick up another suspect. Mohamed went inside to use the bathroom, and when he came back out, the two other suspects were running into Best Buy, screaming that the victim was shot.

The complaint states Mohamed went outside and saw the victim laying on the ground. He said the other two suspects were pacing around the parking lot, and one of the two handed him a gun magazine, which he put in a pocket.

The complaint states Mohamed and the other two suspects ran from the scene into the mall, then back out to Sky Zone. Two of the suspects are juveniles and cannot possess firearms or ammunition.

Mohamed told police once he got to Sky Zone, he tried calling the other two suspects on Snapchat, but they didn’t answer. He said when he saw law enforcement in the Sky Zone, he moved the gun magazine to his sock.

The Anoka County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday no additional arrests have been made.