Mpls. Police Seek Public's Help Finding Teenage Homicide Suspect

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Minneapolis Police Department is asking the public's help in finding a 17-year-old boy suspected of fatally shooting a woman last week on the city's south side.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office has issued an arrest warrant for Ahmed Abdirahim Abdi.

Abdi is suspected of shooting and killing 21-year-old Ayan Abdulahi of Bloomington last Saturday in a home on the 2400 block of Portland Avenue South.

Authorities described Abdi as standing 6-feet, 1-inches tall and weighing 165 pounds. They say he has distinctive red-and-black dog paw tattoos on the backs of his hands. On his left hand it reads "BIG," and on the right is says "DOG."

Police say they think people are harboring Abdi, and they warned that aiding and abetting a fugitive is a felony.

The victim's mother says she doesn't recognize pictures of Abdi, and doesn't know why her daughter was inside that home last weekend.

Police say they think people are helping hide Ahmed Abdi, they're hoping his distinctive tattoos may help someone spot him and tell police.

With six other children to care for, Halimo Alim says she's trying to hold it together while grieving the loss of her oldest child.

"She's friendly to everybody," Alim said. "She had a lot of dreams, but she couldn't get her dreams."

Ayan Abdulahi's mother says she had just completed her GED, she hoped to one day become a pediatrician. A profession her siblings say would have fit her personality.

Her younger brother and sister said she was happy and fun -- someone who would've played with anyone.

Ayan's mother says her daughter had some friends who were bad influences, but she doesn't recognize Ahmed Abdi.

To the police, however, the 17-year-old is more familiar.

"This is somebody we'd like to get off the street," Minneapolis Police spokesman John Elder said.

Anyone who's seen Abdi or knows his whereabouts is asked to call the Minneapolis Police Department at 612-692-8477.