MINNEAPOLIS — Charges have been made public against a teenager accused of being one of two shooters who killed a 19-year-old man at the Mall of America four weeks ago before his mother allegedly drove him to Georgia.
Lavon S. Longstreet, 17, of Minneapolis, has been charged in a juvenile petition filed in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree intentional murder and second-degree assault in connection with the shooting on Dec. 23 that killed Johntae Hudson, of St. Paul, in the Nordstrom department store.
Police say Longstreet and another defendant facing the same felony counts, TaeShawn Adams-Wright, 18, of Minneapolis, stood over Hudson and shot him multiple times, charges against both of them read.
The County Attorney's Office noted in the juvenile petition that it intends to pursue having Longstreet, who turns 18 in six weeks, prosecuted as an adult. That move would mean a more severe sentence should he be convicted.
Longstreet was arrested in Decatur, Georgia, on Tuesday, according to Bloomington police. His 39-year-old mother was located in Golden Valley, jailed on suspicion of aiding and abetting but released Thursday afternoon without being charged on suspicion that she drove her son to Georgia. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.
Deputy Police Chief Kim Clauson said Friday her department forwarded its case against the mother but the County Attorney's Office "deferred (charges) pending further investigation."
Neither police nor the Hennepin County Attorney's Office has responded to questions from the Star Tribune about whether charges against the mother are still being contemplated.
Two other 17-year-olds were charged earlier as juveniles with second-degree riot for their alleged role in the shooting inside the store as customers and employees scrambled for cover.
According to the charges against Adams-Wright and Longstreet:
Surveillance video showed them holding firearms and running toward Hudson, charges against the read.
Longstreet pointed a gun toward Hudson, and the video showed a muzzle flash. Adams-Wright "took a shooting stance" over Hudson, while Longstreet also stood over him. Although the cameras were obstructed, one recorded a handgun pointed at Hudson and a bright muzzle flash reflected on the floor.
Hudson did not move and was found bleeding from his wounds.
This was the mall's latest incident involving guns in a little over a year.
On Dec. 31, 2021, shoppers were sent scrambling after two people were shot and wounded in an altercation on the third floor.
In August, Bloomington police went on another manhunt after gunfire erupted inside the Nike store crowded with shoppers. Two suspects were later arrested by the FBI in Chicago. Three weeks later, a gunman armed with a rifle robbed the Lids store at the MOA.
The mall added metal detectors at its north entrance in October in a testing phase, but they were not operational at the time of last weekend's shooting, spokesperson Laura Utecht said in a statement. The mall is also implementing bag checks at entrances.
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