Minneapolis carjacking pursuit crash victims identified

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Authorities have released the names of the two women killed when a suspected carjacker in Minneapolis crashed into them while fleeing police. 

READ MORE: MPD pursuit crash leaves 2 women dead, child injured, dog euthanized

Minneapolis pursuit crash victims identified 

What we know:

The crash took the lives of two women who were not involved in the pursuit. Marisa Ardys Casebolt and Liberty Borg, both 25-year-old women from Minneapolis, died from injuries sustained in the crash.

The Minnesota State Patrol crash report says the women were in a Ford sedan.

A 6-year-old boy, the son of one of the victims, suffered bilateral femur fractures and a traumatic brain injury. Authorities have not released his name.

The suspect was driving a 2012 Volkswagen that Minneapolis police say he stole during a carjacking at gunpoint. He was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries following the crash. 

What we know about the suspect

Dig deeper:

Criminal charges identify the suspect as 45-year-old Troy Mike Payton, also known as Edward Tiki Arrington, of St. Paul.

Past criminal convictions include assault, ineligible possession of a firearm, fleeing police and driving with a revoked license. 

READ MORE: Minneapolis carjacking pursuit crash: Charges filed against driver

Records show that he changed his name in 2015. 

Minneapolis fatal police pursuit crash following carjacking

What happened:

Minneapolis police say around 8 a.m. on Thursday, officers responded to reports of a person with a gun near East Lake Street and 4th Avenue South. 

Those reports were then updated to a carjacking in progress, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara. 

The suspect was then seen driving a maroon Ford Explorer recklessly, reportedly swerving into traffic, speeding and driving onto sidewalks along Lake Street. O'Hara said the suspect then crashed and tried to carjack someone who was stopped at a red light. That person then drove away and was not carjacked.

A photo shared by law enforcement officials shows the suspect trying to carjack someone after crashing a Ford Explorer.

However, police say the suspect then carjacked a woman driving a black Volkswagen and fled in her vehicle before circling back to the scene. The suspect then took three dogs from the crashed Ford Explorer. 

Police say they received multiple reports of the suspect firing multiple shots as he fled in the victim's vehicle. 

At about 8:19 a.m. Thursday, police say they received reports of a black Volkswagen being driven recklessly in downtown Minneapolis. Police then tracked the Volkswagen to the north side of the city, where they initiated a pursuit at about 8:36 a.m. The pursuit ended about three minutes later, when the suspect crashed into an uninvolved vehicle at the intersection of Penn Avenue North and Olson Memorial Highway, also known as Highway 55. 

Police chief speaks on department pursuit policy 

What they're saying:

"This is an outcome we never want — a devastating incident with very heartbreaking and permanent consequences," O'Hara said. "A gunman drove recklessly throughout the city, at excessive speeds and even onto sidewalks, carjacking a woman and firing shots on a crowded city street, jeopardizing human life. This criminal put countless lives at risk, and this is exactly why we take violent crime so seriously."   

When asked about the department's pursuit policy, O'Hara said, "We've been criticized recently, because of all the smash-and-grabs and stolen cars, that have affected literally hundreds of residents, for having a pursuit policy that does not allow pursuits in those cases. This result is the reason we have such stringent policies. We have to balance the need to apprehend, in this case, a dangerous and violent gunman, with the risk that these pursuits pose to the public. So we limit our pursuits only to those cases where we believe an immediate apprehension is necessary to protect the community from a violent criminal, and we don't necessarily know who that person is, and not necessarily wait to make an apprehension at a later time. That's why the Minneapolis policy on vehicle pursuits is so stringent."