"It's unimaginable": Amidst grief, parents of 19-year-old killed at MOA urge tougher penalties, tighter security
Note: The video above first aired on Jan. 17. 2023
MINNEAPOLIS – The parents of the Como High School graduate killed at Mall of America last year are speaking out for the first time about their loss, their pain and their hopes for the future.
"There is never going to be healing," said mother Lynn Hudson. You can't heal from this. This is our son."
Johntae Hudson, 19, was shot and killed inside Nordstrom on the night of December 23, 2022.
"My son was a very important part of this community. My son was [involved with] Boys & Girls Club, he volunteered for a lot of things. He was hands-on, he was a people person. He was an asset to the community, and not a liability," Lynn said.
Johnny Hudson, Johntae's father, added that his son aspired to be an entrepreneur, and had been offered scholarships to attend college.
"It's really hard to talk about," Johnny said, as he choked back tears. "My son's life is over forever. He's not coming back."
Kirby Scull, Johntae's former football and wrestling coach, described his former student as a leader with an infectious smile.
"He always was a leader and always had a happy heart and he was a kid that other people were attracted to," Scull said. "Johntae's style was people knew they could trust. They knew he would help them and he was always open to helping them. This kid was destined to do some great stuff.
Six people arrested, four charged
Days after the shooting, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges announced the arrest of five people, including three juveniles, in connection with Hudson's death. Weeks later, a sixth suspect was arrested in Georgia and brought back to Minnesota.
Prosecutors have so far filed charges against four of them, including TaeShawn Adams-Wright and Lavon Longstreet, who are charged with second-degree murder. According to prosecutors, both Adams-Wright and Longstreet are on video with guns during the shooting.
Longstreet, despite being 17 at the time, has been certified to face trial as an adult.
Two other juveniles, meanwhile, have been charged with second-degree riot. A spokesman for the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said that prosecutors have petitioned both cases to proceed as "Extended Jurisdiction Juvenile," which would allow the court to impose supervision until age 21, unlike juvenile delinquency court which is until age 19. A judge thus far has rejected at least one petition, with the other still pending.
The Hudsons told WCCO News they would have preferred all suspects to be charged as adults.
"I believe in rehabilitating young juveniles according to their acts," Lynn said. "What they did to my son, they knew exactly what they were doing. You wouldn't have an overflow of delinquents if you are harder on their sentences."
Lynn, fighting back tears, said her son's killers "circled him like wild animals" and wouldn't let him get away.
I saw the video of what they did to my son. And you don't do that to a human. This is animal instincts in the wild somewhere," Lynn said.
Nicholas Kimball, a spokesman for Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, said the office is "deeply committed to getting justice for Johntae Hudson and his family," and asserted that "We take violence in our communities seriously and will hold those who are responsible accountable."
Asked about new or elevated charges, Kimball said, "Our obligation is to charge cases only when we have enough admissible evidence to support a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. When we're talking about multiple actors, often we must be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt an individual person's subjective knowledge of what was going to happen in advance of the crime being committed – we cannot assume they knew something simply because they were present when something occurred."
MOA touts "multi-layered and industry leading" security
The shooting that killed Johntae provoked the second lockdown of Mall of America in 2022, after shots fired outside the Nike store prompted a lockdown in August. On New Year's Eve of 2021, the mall went into lockdown after two people were shot on the third level of the mall. On New Year's Eve of 2021, the mall also went into lockdown after two people were shot on the third level of the mall.
Lynn said her son, who had hoped to be an entrepreneur selling clothing, was a frequent shopper at MOA.
"He never had a problem going there," she said. "I figured that would be a safe place for anyone. People come from all over the world to see what Mall Of America is all about. So it's supposed to be safe, right? You're supposed to be protected in a place like that, right?" Lynn said.
The mall bans guns on the premises but does not have metal detectors at its entrances. It began a month-long testing of the use of a "weapons detection system" at its north entrance in October.
"They have detectors for people that are thieves," Hudson said. "Merchandise is more important than human life? I don't think so. They have to install these [weapons detectors] because it could possibly save someone's life. It didn't save our son. We didn't expect our son to pass away in that mall because we thought it was safe and secure."
Managers at Mall of America declined WCCO's request for an interview and did not respond to our questions about detectors. In an emailed statement, a spokeswoman wrote:
Mall of America is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for its guests, tenants, and team members. We take a multi-layered and industry leading approach to security with resources in place that are both visible and nonvisible to guests. In addition to the robust security programs and units, the Mall also collaborates with outside law enforcement agencies on the county, state, and federal level, including Bloomington Police who have a substation onsite. As we move forward, our team is focused on continuing to evolve and enhance our security strategies.
MOA did invite WCCO News for a behind-the-scenes look at security in March, where managers reiterated their emphasis on a "comprehensive" and multi-faceted strategy.
"There's no such thing as 100% security, but our approach is a layered approach. With more layers built in the less chance all of those holes line up at once," said Will Bernhjelm, MOA's vice president of security.
For the Hudsons, they said they have no intention of returning to MOA, and they pray no one else experiences the kind of pain they say they feel every day.
"I keep Johntae in my heart everywhere I go. I don't have him physically, but I have him in my heart and I take him everywhere I go," Lynn said. "It's hurtful. It's painful. It's the kind of pain that's not in dictionaries."
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