MINNEAPOLIS — An 18-year-old and two juveniles were charged Thursday in connection with a fatal shooting last week at the Mall of America that sent shoppers into an active shooter lockdown for a third time since last holiday season.
Taeshawn Adams Wright, 18, of Minneapolis, is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree assault, while two 17-year-olds are charged with second-degree riot in connection with the killing of Johntae Hudson, 19, of St. Paul inside Nordstrom as customers and employees scrambled for cover.
Police say a dispute between the two groups of young men led up to the Dec. 23 gunfire. On Christmas Eve, SWAT officers arrested five people, ages 17 and 18, at a St. Louis Park home.
Chief Booker Hodges said all would be charged on suspicion of second-degree murder, but in an interview Thursday he said that some suspects refuse to cooperate with the investigation, which is why two have not been charged yet.
"We expect additional arrests and criminal charges associated with this case in the near future," Hodges said. "Our detectives continue to work tirelessly on this case. Their job is made more difficult because those involved have been and continue to be uncooperative. Despite this, our efforts to lock up everyone responsible for this incident will not cease."
Wright and another teen — who has not been charged as an adult and is only identified in court documents as L.L. — fired the shots at Hudson, according to the criminal complaint.
According to charges against Wright:
Shortly before 8 p.m. Dec. 23, Hudson was shot multiple times in the men's clothing department at Nordstrom and died at the scene despite life-saving efforts by eyewitnesses, mall security and first responders. Surveillance video shows the suspects pursuing Hudson throughout the department store.
Police found cartridge casings from both 9 mm and .40-caliber firearms near Hudson's body. They also found a .40-caliber firearm near Hudson's body that was "determined to be associated" with him. Comparison of the casings revealed that two of the casings were discharged from that gun.
The riot charges accuse the teens of assembling with two or more people to disturb the public peace by intentionally acting or threatening to act with unlawful force or violence. Charges say the 17-year-olds knew other people with them were armed with dangerous weapons.
Hodges said police will continue to do what they can to keep the mall and city of Bloomington safe. "At the end of the day it just comes down to people who just have a complete lack of respect for human life," he said.
It was the latest incident involving firearms within the calendar year.
New Year's Eve shoppers were sent scrambling after two people were shot and wounded in an altercation at MOA on the third floor.
In August, Bloomington police were on another manhunt after gunfire erupted inside a crowded Nike store at MOA. Two suspects were later arrested by the Chicago FBI's Fugitive Task Force. Three weeks later, a gunman armed with a rifle robbed the Lids store at MOA.
After these incidents, the mall added metal detectors to the north entrance in October as a testing phase, but they were not operational at the time of the most recent shooting, said mall spokesperson Laura Utecht in a statement.
Utecht added that additional security resources have been put into place that are both visible and nonvisible to guests," including cameras, K9, bike patrol, and plain clothes officers."
The mall is also implementing bag checks at entrances, but some shoppers on social media have called into question the policy that seemingly targets women with purses, diaper bags and strollers.
"Mall of America is a unique property," Utecht said, "and we take the safety and security of our guests, team members, and tenants very seriously."
Earlier this month, the mall reached an undisclosed settlement over a lawsuit filed by the family of a 5-year-old boy thrown over a third-floor balcony at the mall in 2019. The family accused mall security of failing to investigate their son's attacker, who had two prior bans at the mall and displayed suspicious activity there the day before the attack.
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