Man fatally shot on Metro Transit bus identified

Authorities on Monday released the name of the man who was fatally shot last week on a Metro Transit bus in downtown Minneapolis.

Tommie McCoy, 51, who has no permanent address, died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head and neck, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.

A second man who was with McCoy and also was shot remains in critical condition at HCMC in Minneapolis.

Police arrested Malcolm James Lessley, 26, in connection with the shootings that occurred about 9:30 p.m. Thursday on a southbound C-Line bus that was stopped at the transit center on Ramp A at 9th Street and 1st Avenue N.

Lessley was charged Friday with second-degree murder in the shooting. He was due to make his first court appearance Monday in Hennepin County District Court.

According to the charges, Lessley, who had boarded at a stop in north Minneapolis, moved to the middle of the seating area of the bus. Surveillance video from the bus showed that Lessley and McCoy appeared to talk to each other before Lessley walked several seats closer, took out the handgun and fatally shot McCoy in the face. Immediately afterward, Lessley shot the second man, who was standing next to a door, in the head.

Lessley was armed with a 9-millimeter handgun when he was arrested a few blocks from the shooting at 7th Street and Nicollet Mall, the charges said.

Lessley has previous convictions for aggravated robbery and theft. He was civilly committed for mental illness in September, court records show.

This was believed to have been the first shooting aboard a Metro Transit bus in a decade, and the first on the new C-Line, a rapid bus that runs between Brooklyn Center and downtown Minneapolis.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768