Plea deal secured for one of two suspects in Nudieland mass shooting
MINNEAPOLIS — Hennepin County Attorney's Office secured a plea deal for an 18-year-old man charged in connection to a deadly mass shooting at the Minneapolis backyard music venue dubbed Nudieland.
Two people were charged earlier this year for the Aug. 11, 2023, shooting that killed 35-year-old August Golden and injured six others. Both suspects were 17 at the time. Between 30 to 50 people were gathered for a concert during the shooting.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says an 18-year-old man from Hinckley will plead guilty to aiding an offender after the fact under the extended juvenile jurisdiction.
After his time at the state juvenile correctional facility at Red Wing, he will be certified as an adult and plead guilty to second-degree assault, aiding and abetting first-degree assault and aiding and abetting second-degree assault.
The attorney's office says he will be under state supervision until he turns 26 but will have a stayed prison sentence that could be imposed if he does not follow the terms of his probation.
As part of the deal, he also agreed to testify against the other accused shooter who served as the "major perpetrator" in the incident, according to the attorney's office. That perpetrator, Moriarty says, "will face penalties reflecting the more serious role he played" in the shooting.
Juvenile petitions say the two suspects were attending the concert, and witnesses say they made "insensitive comments" and "derogatory epithets about the sexual orientation of concert attendees."
Witnesses called the suspects out for carrying handguns, and one of the suspects replied, "We're not going to use the gun or anything, but if need be we will," according to one of the petitions.
The suspects eventually left, and less than a minute later gunfire erupted from the yard next door. Police say nine shell casings were recovered at the scene. Eight casings were 9mm caliber and one was .380 caliber.
Several witnesses, including Aaron Dively, told WCCO days after the shooting that a queerphobic interaction involving the suspects occurred before the shooting.
While charging documents acknowledge the suspects used slurs before the attack, Moriarty says proving it in court would have been too high of a bar.
Note: The video above originally aired on Aug. 14, 2023.
