24-year-old man charged with shooting at officer near Lake Harriet Bandshell
MINNEAPOLIS — A 24-year-old man accused of exchanging gunfire with a Minneapolis Park Police officer on Tuesday now faces charges in Hennepin County.
Muhyedin Abdirahman was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree assault on Friday.
Documents say the officer was patrolling the area near the Lake Harriet Bandshell shortly before midnight when he came across a unoccupied car blocking the boat launch.
The officer saw Abdirahman pacing a short distance away, and asked if it was his car, to which Abdirahman responded "none of your business," documents allege. Abdirahman tried to leave, but the officer said he was not free to do so.
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Charges state that Abdirahman opened the driver's side door to his car and the officer tried to grab his arm. Then Abdirahman shot his gun, and the officer returned fire. Neither was injured.
Other officers responding to the area later found Abdirahman sitting on a park bench. They asked him if he witnessed anything, and Abdirahman said he "was involved." When asked where his gun was, Abdirahman said he "dropped it," documents state.
The squad car had three bullets in it, and there was a box of ammunition in the trunk of Abdirahman's car. A police dog later found a Glock 27 40 caliber handgun, which was registered to Abdirahman.
"It's an absolute miracle that nobody was killed in this incident," Minneapolis Park Police Chief Jason Ohotto said. "Like I said, I watched the body camera footage, there was an exchange of gunfire at a relatively short distance and I'm extremely thankful that our officer's OK."
A second-degree murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Note: The above video first aired on Wednesday, Oct. 25.