Two people are federally charged with possession of machine guns after gun violence at high school graduations in the Twin Cities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Minnesota announced Wednesday.
Hamza Abdirashid Said, 20, of Coon Rapids, was already charged in Hennepin County in a May 30 shooting at the University of Minnesota after the Wayzata High School graduation that injured two people.
Separately, police arrested Amiir Mawlid Ali,18, of Circle Pines, after shots were fired after the Burnsville High School graduation on Friday. He is not charged in the shooting.
On June 3, Minneapolis police pulled over a vehicle and found a firearm under Ali’s seat, according to the charge. The gun had “a machine gun conversion device, also known as a switch,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“High school graduation ceremonies are a rite of passage,” Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joseph Thompson said in a statement. “A time for friends and family to come together to celebrate one of life’s major milestones. To bring machineguns and violence to such a ceremony is immoral and shameful.”
U of M shooting
At about 8 p.m. May 30, police responded to a shooting outside 3M Arena at Mariucci at the University of Minnesota. Two people who’d attended the Wayzata High School graduation ceremony had been shot.
Surveillance video showed “several males in a verbal altercation,” according to a law enforcement affidavit in the federal case against Said. One of them “withdrew a handgun and appeared to fire, causing bystanders to duck and run from the area.”
A 49-year-old man heard gunshots, and was shot “as he and his family attempted to escape the shooting,” the affidavit said.
The man was shot in the head, and sustained a fractured skull and brain bleed. He’s been released from the hospital.
Officers found a 19-year-old in a nearby vehicle who had a gunshot wound to his leg. He “was uncooperative when asked for information about the shooting,” the affidavit said.
Police took Said into custody in the area. He had several fresh cuts and injuries to his elbows and wrists. He did not provide a statement to law enforcement.
Said was seen on surveillance video and appeared to toss an item into a bush, the affidavit said.
Police found a 9mm semiautomatic pistol with a high-capacity extended magazine and equipped with a switch. The switch allows “the firearm to be fired as a fully automatic weapon by a single function of the trigger,” the affidavit continued.
Burnsville HS shots fired
On June 3 about 3:45 p.m., Minneapolis officers pulled over a vehicle. Ali was the front seat passenger. An officer “knew from prior investigations that Ali was associated with multiple recent gang-related shootings,” said the affidavit in his case.
Officers asked if there were firearms or weapons in the vehicle. The occupants “all hesitated before replying, ‘No,’” the affidavit said. “Officers observed Ali repeatedly looking down at the passenger floorboard area and moving objects at his feet.”
The people in the vehicle said they were heading to the Edina High School graduation at the University of Minnesota. “Officers were aware of a shooting that occurred at the Wayzata High School graduation ceremony at the same location just four days earlier,” the affidavit said.
Police removed the people from the vehicle for officer safety, and an officer “easily observed” a firearm under the seat where Ali had been sitting. The 10 mm semiautomatic pistol was equipped with a switch and a loaded, 33-round extended magazine with a round in the chamber.
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Ali did not give a statement to law enforcement. He was released from the Hennepin County jail last Thursday.
The next day, he was among four people arrested after gunshots were fired after the Burnsville High School graduation ceremony. No one was injured in that case.
Two people were charged in Dakota County. A case against Ali, who was arrested on a warrant, was not presented to the Dakota County Attorney’s Office for charging consideration.
Both Said and Ali are charged with unlawful possession of a machinegun. They made their initial court appearances in federal court Tuesday and remained detained.
An attorney could not be reached for comment for either of the men.