Antagonism toward Somali students fueled St. Louis Park brawl, say charges against mom, 2 adult kids

Hostility toward Somali students at St. Louis Park High School from a mother and her children last week fueled a brawl that started in a hallway and flared up again in the parking lot, according to charges filed Friday.

The altercation led school officials to cancel all classes and activities the following day, Jan. 19.

Charged in Hennepin County District Court with gross-misdemeanor counts of third-degree riot and bias-motivated fourth-degree assault were 19-year-old Jerome A. Smith, 22-year-old Abreeha A. Smith, and their mother, 41-year-old Latoya R. Milon.

The St. Louis Park family members were charged by summons. Court records do not yet show a court date for any of the three, or list defense counsel for them. Messages were left with the family Friday seeking a response to the allegations.

Other family members on the scene were a 16-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old boy, but a court spokesman said charges had yet to be filed against either of them.

“The investigation into this fight by the St. Louis Park Police Department remains active, with the likelihood of additional charges at some point in the future,” police spokeswoman Jacque Smith said.

Smith added that police continue to accept tips about the brawl, at 952-924-2618.

On Tuesday, several St. Louis Park parents called for a zero-tolerance policy on violence during a school board meeting. Interim superintendent Kate Maguire said administrators “have taken swift and decisive action with each participant in the events from last week,” ranging from one-day dismissals to expulsion.

According to the charges:

Police were alerted at about 2:15 p.m. on Jan. 18 that a parent was at the school threatening to beat up students. Officers met with an assistant principal and Milon, who said her 16-year-old daughter told her in a phone call that “she was jumped by multiple Somali females,” the criminal complaints read.

School surveillance video showed that the initial altercation involved Jerome Smith and a Somali male in a hall. The daughter who called her mother claiming that she was jumped “is seen [in the video] voluntarily entering the physical altercation at point and ... throwing punches at another female student, contrary to what [she] initially reported,” the charges read.

An officer outside the school soon saw a disturbance involving Jerome Smith, Abreeha Smith, the 16-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son of Milon, “all actively fighting several Somali students” and pinning some against a vehicle, according to the charges. “The group was actively punching, striking and grabbing several Somali students.”

As her children were fighting, Milon was yelling, swearing and gesturing toward Somali students. As additional officers arrived, Milon and her children got in a vehicle and left.

A Somali student told police that Milon’s 16-year-old daughter had punched her without provocation. Another Somali student said Abreeha Smith punched her on the left side of her head.

Outside, a Somali student said he was confronted by the instigators and felt he was targeted because of his ethnic background. The ambush left him with cuts to his legs and facial injuries. Another Somali student said Jerome Smith choked her with both hands and that Abreeha Smith punched her in the head.

Court records in Minnesota show that Milon has one conviction for disorderly conduct, three for theft and others for giving police false information. Abreeha Smith has one conviction each for disorderly conduct and aiding and abetting theft. Jerome Smith has no criminal convictions on his record, according to state court records.