MINNEAPOLIS –
Three suspects were charged Thursday in connection with the December 23 Mall of America shooting that killed 19-year-old Johntae Hudson of St. Paul, inside the mall’s Nordstrom store.
Taeshawn Adams Wright, 18, of Minneapolis, was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree assault, and two 17-year-olds were charged with second-degree riot.
Two others were arrested on December 24 in connection with the shooting, but they have yet to be charged because some of the suspects have refused to cooperate with the investigation, Sheriff Booker Hodges told the Star Tribune.
“We expect further arrests and criminal charges related to this case in the near future,” Hodges said. “Our efforts to lock down everyone responsible for this incident will not stop.”
Police said an argument between two groups of young men led to a gunfight at the mall on December 23.
Allegedly, Hudson was shot eight times and died during the men’s competition at Nordstrom. Witnesses, mall security guards and first responders tried to save him. Police found shell casings near Hudson’s body, along with a .40-caliber firearm that was “identified as related” to Hudson.
Frightened customers scrambled for safety and the nation’s largest shopping mall was locked down on one of the last days of the year-end shopping season.
Mall spokeswoman Laura Utecht said metal detectors were added to the mall’s north entrance in October during a test phase, but they were not working during the recent shooting. best. Utecht says other security features – including cameras, K9s, bike patrols and plainclothes police – have been put to use.
