Two Men Charged With Monday's Warehouse District Shootings
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Two men have been charged in association with stray bullets leaving three people with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds early Monday morning in the Warehouse District.
Don Buddie Austin, 20, of Minneapolis has been charged with three counts of first-degree aiding and abetting assault, and one count of prohibited person in possession of a firearm as he was convicted of a felony in 2007, according to criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County.
Dontae Andre Dewayne McKinney, 19, of Richfield has been charged with one count of first-degree assault and three counts of first-degree aiding and abetting assault, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint states that witnesses helped police track down Austin to an alley behind First Avenue North, after bullets hit three people spilling out of the Gay 90's Bar at about 1:54 a.m. Monday.
Police found Austin near a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun. The weapon was loaded with the hammer cocked, ready to fire.
Four of the 11 discharged cartridge casings from the scene of the shooting were .45 caliber casings, and were from the same manufacturer as the live cartridges in Austin's handgun, according to the complaint. Forensic scientists also identified Austin's fingerprint on the .45 caliber handgun.
The complaint states that police then chased McKinney down an alley and after scaling a fence, a pursuing officer saw a handgun fall near McKinney. Police say the officer told McKinney to stay down, but he stood up and moved toward the handgun, picked it up and turned toward the officer.
Fearing McKinney was going to shoot and kill him, the complaint states, the officer fired his gun once, hitting McKinney in the arm. Police then recovered the loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun. Seven of the 11 discharged cartridge casings from the scene of the shooting were .40 caliber casings, and police said the single live round in the .40 caliber handgun recovered near McKinney were from the same manufacturer.
