3 charged in gang-related shootings in downtown Minneapolis

A pair of ambush-style shootings that injured three people near Target Field and Hennepin County Medical Center last month were fueled by a long-running "tit-for-tat" dispute between two violent Minneapolis street gangs.

Authorities released details of the shootings Monday as they announced charges against three suspects.

"This is mindless street violence," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said at a news conference.

The men are members of either the Taliban or One-nine street gangs, Freeman said. Their most recent feud may have been connected to a YouTube video mocking the slaying of Tyrone Washington, a One-nine member gunned down by an unknown assailant at the Epic nightclub in downtown Minneapolis in November.

Three men are charged in the shootings on April 12 near Target Field and April 30 near the hospital, the latter a daytime assault that wounded a pregnant woman in the leg.

The feud is ongoing. Four years ago this month, someone ambushed Taliban member Derrick Martin as he walked along the path around Lake Calhoun. Authorities at the time said the Taliban, which was formed in 2005, had a running dispute with the 19 Block Dipset Gang and its offshoot, the Stick Up Boys. The groups tend to be smaller and less organized than large drug-dealing gangs of the previous generation, but their disputes over pride, girlfriends or even clothing can be deadly, police say.

James Lamar Davis, 27, of Brooklyn Center, was charged with two counts of attempted murder. He's accused of shooting Kibbie S. Walker, 23, in the chest and abdomen at 2:57 a.m. on April 12 near the north-facing gates of Target Field. Walker, a member of the Taliban gang, survived.

Walker was leaving work at Target Field with a co-worker when he saw three men walking toward him, all dressed in black with hoodies pulled tight around their faces, the charges say. One of the men nodded at Davis, who then pulled out a revolver and started shooting, according to the charges. Walker was hit twice and his co-worker once.

Despite his injuries, Walker was out of the hospital a day later. Authorities did not name his co-worker, but said the bullet that struck him hit his spine. His condition wasn't immediately known.

An accomplice of Davis', Justin Maurice McGee, 30, of Bloomington, was charged with two counts of aiding and abetting attempted second-degree murder. The third man with Davis and McGee at the time of the shootings was not named.

The feud continued on April 30, according to authorities, when Walker shot at a black Chevy Impala on April 30 at 12:55 p.m. near the Medical Center. Two women and an infant boy were in the vehicle. The women later told police that they heard gunshots as they drove past the intersection of Chicago Avenue and 8th Street and that the woman riding in the front passenger seat then felt a pain in her knee.

They drove to Abbott Northwestern Hospital, where the woman was treated for a gunshot wound to her leg.

Numerous witnesses told police they saw a man wearing a gray sweatshirt firing several times at the car as it passed, the charges say. The gunman then took off his sweatshirt and dropped the gun on the ground before fleeing into a store at 1431 11th Av. S. Officers entered the store and found Walker, the only person inside who matched witness descriptions.

His fingerprint was later found on the gun used in the shooting of the pregnant woman. When he was informed of that fact, Walker allegedly told authorities that he had screwed up and asked how much time he would receive.

Walker was charged Monday with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

Matt McKinney • 612-217-1747