MINNEAPOLIS — The Hennepin County Attorney's Office announced charges Tuesday after one person was killed and six others injured in a shooting at a backyard concert in Minneapolis last summer.
The 18-year-old suspect was 17 at the time of the shooting. He is charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and six counts of felony assault following the mass shooting at "Nudieland" — a backyard venue attended by members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
KARE 11 is not naming him at this time as he was 17 at the time of the shooting and his case is still in juvenile court. During the suspect's first court appearance, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office filed a motion to have adult certification studies complete to help them decide whether to seek having the case moved to adult court.
Police arrested the suspect on Monday night, officials said, and he made his first appearance in juvenile court on Tuesday, April 23.
“Gun violence will not be tolerated in our communities,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. “This shooting, at what should have been a joyous event, rocked our LBGTQIA+ community, and increased fear among a community that is too often already under attack. We are committed to holding those who caused this harm accountable, and to offering, as we already have, our office's resources to those who have been impacted by this senseless violence."
According to the juvenile petition, two teenage males interacted with people at a concert on the night of Aug. 11, 2023, minutes before the shooting. Witnesses told police the two males approached them and made "insensitive" comments during an interaction described as "hostile."
Other people at the concert that night told police they overheard the two males utter "derogatory epithets" about the sexual orientation of other people at the concert.
People who witnessed the night's events said the shooting began seconds after the two males left the party.
When officers responded to the scene, they found at least seven people who had been shot. One victim, 35-year-old August Golden, was shot in the back and later died. Golden was a member of the Minneapolis punk rock band Scrounger. Best friend Bryan May told MPR News in August that Golden was a talented artist, songwriter and photographer.
"We've not charged this as a crime motivated by bias. As you know, prosecutors don't have to prove motivation but I want to acknowledge that there were hateful and hurtful comments made during this incident. There's no doubt about that," Moriarty said.
But Moriarty went on to say, "We know that there were biased comments made. That's clear. What we don't believe, at this moment, is that we have enough information to know whether the crime itself was motivated by those hateful comments."
Forensic examiners developed a DNA profile from a cigarette butt found at the scene and connected it to a known DNA profile of one of the suspects. Using surveillance videos, investigators said they were able to confirm that two males matched the physical description of the two people of interest. A witness later identified the second suspect in the video, police said.
Police are searching for the second suspect. Charges are under seal as law enforcement continue to search for him. Moriarty said the second suspect was also 17 at the time of the shooting.
The first suspect will be back in court May 1.
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