Murder charges filed in 2020 shooting that took life of young mother

Family urges gunman to come forward after Minneapolis teen gravely injured in senseless shooting

A Minneapolis family is hoping for a miracle as their teenage daughter fights for her life after she was shot.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A man who admitted to firing the shots that killed an 18-year-old mother in south Minneapolis back in May 2020 is charged with murder. 

The criminal complaint names Malcom Chan Johnson, 33, of Minneapolis, as a suspect in the fatal shooting after he told police he didn't know there was a woman in the car he was shooting at.

The shooting claimed the life of Arionna Buckanaga, who was set to graduate high school a month after she was shot. 

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Man charged for 2020 shooting death of Arionna Buckanaga

Fatal shooting:

Court documents show the shooting happened near the intersection of 39th Street East and Cedar Avenue South in Minneapolis at about 11:25 p.m. on May 4, 2020.

Officers found Arionna in the driver's seat of a crashed Ford Mustang, with a gunshot wound to her head. She died at the hospital days later.

Her boyfriend, who was a passenger in the Mustang, told police he did not know who shot at the vehicle. 

Investigation:

The criminal complaint states officers found an abandoned Chevy Suburban with bullet holes in the hood about a mile-and-a-half away from the scene of the shooting. The bullet holes appeared to be consistent with the driver of the vehicle shooting over the hood and accidentally striking the vehicle. 

Investigators also found 32 shell casings at the scene of the shooting. About two weeks later, police found two Glock 9mm handguns in a compost bin about eight blocks away from the shooting. Law enforcement officials determined the two guns fired the 32 shots.

DNA swabs taken from the Suburban were found to match Malcom Chan Johnson and another man, Namiri Tanner. Tests on the firearms also revealed a mixture of DNA that also matched Tanner.

Court documents say authorities then spoke to a witness on March 20, 2025, who told them Johnson confessed to the shooting and that Johnson had a "gang feud" with Arionna's boyfriend.

Confession:

Police then spoke to Namiri Tanner, who is in a federal prison in Kentucky. 

The complaint states Tanner confessed to shooting at the Mustang and from the passenger's seat and said that Johnson was shooting from the driver's seat, firing over the hood. Tanner added that the two men abandoned the Suburban and ditched the guns in a trash can. 

Authorities then interviewed Johnson on March 4, 2026. He admitted driving the Suburban and firing one of the guns.

Johnson said he thought Arionna's boyfriend was in the Mustang, but didn't know she was as well, and said he did not mean to kill her, according to the complaint.

What we don't know:

It's unclear if Tanner will face charges in the case. Tanner is being held in federal prison on a drug case. However, it appears he is due to be released next month.