Mall of America killing: Second alleged shooter arrested in Georgia
Bloomington police say another suspect in December's fatal shooting at the Mall of America was arrested Tuesday in Georgia.
U.S. marshals and officers from local agencies arrested the 17-year-old male suspect without incident in Decatur, Ga., and he is awaiting extradition back to Minnesota.
His mother and one other person, who police allege aided him while he was being sought by authorities, also were arrested Tuesday. The mother is believed to have transported her son out of Minnesota after the shooting, police said in a news release.
The 17-year-old faces a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the Dec. 23 shooting death of 19-year-old Johntae Hudson in the mall's Nordstrom store. MPR News does not name juveniles unless they are charged as adults; at this point, the 17-year-old's case is in juvenile court.
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Three other people also have been arrested and charged in connection with Hudson's death.
Prosecutors allege 18-year-old Taeshawn Adams-Wright and the others — all age 17 — surrounded Hudson, and one of the teens tackled him. Adams-Wright and another of the 17-year-olds — the one arrested in Georgia — allegedly stood over Hudson and opened fire, according to the charges.
A woman who was shopping with her teenage daughter suffered a graze wound.
Adams-Wright is charged with second-degree intentional murder and second-degree assault. The other two 17-year-olds are charged with rioting.
Booker Hodges, the Bloomington police chief, told reporters Tuesday evening that he expects there will be more arrests in connection with the mall shooting.
Hodges also said lab tests of shell casings recovered at the mall shooting scene “match those that have been found at several shooting crime scenes in Minneapolis and St. Paul over the last year and a half.” He did not elaborate further, citing active investigations.