Minneapolis man charged in shooting outside Minnesota State Fair

A 19-year-old Minneapolis man faces multiple charges in connection with two September drive-by shootings that occurred about three hours apart, one of which injured three teenagers after they left the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on the final night of the season.

Last week, Musharaf Zainab Arab was charged by warrant with three counts of aiding and abetting attempted murder and two counts of aiding and abetting a drive-by shooting. He was arrested on the charges Friday and remained in jail on $2 million bail.

According to the complaint, the officers responded to a call of shooting near a parking lot at 1000 North Snelling Avenue, south of Wynne Avenue, around 10:20 p.m. on September 2. They found a 17-year-old who had been shot in the leg.

The teenager told police that he was walking with others to his friend’s car after the fair, heard gunshots and realized he had been shot. He was hiding under the railway tracks until the officers arrived. He said he didn’t know anyone who would want to hurt him.

The two remaining shooting victims arrived at local hospitals in private vehicles. A 17-year-old with a gunshot wound to the calf arrived at Regions, and an 18-year-old who was shot in the neck arrived at Hennepin County Medical Center.

They also told police they were shot in the parking lot and they didn’t know why. One witness said he initially thought they were fireworks until he saw blood flowing down his neck. The second said he heard 10 shots in quick succession before everyone dispersed.

Officers recovered 53 spent shell casings at three separate locations under the Snelling Avenue Bridge, east of the parking lot. Analysis of the shell casings showed that three guns had been fired.

Surveillance footage shows a blue sedan parked under the bridge. Several people got out, but the driver stayed where he was. The shooters fired at three teenagers from the street, and another shot from a gravel area next to the train tracks. The shooters returned to the sedan, which drove away.

Other surveillance footage of the sedan showed it appearing to be a blue Volkswagen.

Approximately three hours later, at 1:16 a.m. on September 3, officers were called to a drive-by shooting at a BP gas station in Little Canada, east of Interstate 35E along Little Canada Road.

Surveillance footage shows the blue sedan stopped at the intersection of Centerville Road and Little Canada Road. The sedan turned around and disappeared from view. About two minutes later, shots were fired at four men standing in front of cars at gas station pumps. The men escaped and were apparently uninjured.