Charges: Gang member's gunfire hits teen bystander at St. Paul gas station

A gang member's gunfire at a St. Paul gas station hit a teenage bystander as he and his family ran for their lives, according to charges against the 18-year-old suspect.

Dajuan L. Miller II, was charged Monday in Ramsey County District Court with attempted second-degree murder and related weapons counts in connection with the midafternoon Sunday shooting at the Speedway in the 300 block of Maryland Avenue E, just east of Interstate 35E.

Miller was arrested Monday and remains held in the Hennepin County jail on a weapons possession violation. Court records do not show an attorney for him as of Tuesday afternoon.

According to the charges:

A woman and her three children were walking to the Speedway, when an SUV nearly ran them over as they neared the business.

Hearing gunshots, the four fled toward a nearby Marathon gas station. One of the shots struck the woman's 15-year-old son in the thigh, while the rest of the family fled for cover into the Marathon station.

The wounded teen was helped by good Samaritans into the Marathon station. He told police that he saw a man shooting from the SUV as it left the Speedway.

Speedway surveillance video helped police identify Miller as the gunman.

A Speedway employee told police about a male who ran out of the store as two men still inside yelled his name. The male yelled something back just before Miller started shooting.

The next day, police in Minneapolis spotted Miller in a speeding car that was "making evasive maneuvers."

Police stopped the car, and Miller got out of the back seat and was caught after a brief chased. A handgun was recovered from near where he was apprehended.

Authorities say Miller is an EBK gang member and has a juvenile conviction for burglary, which included his being unable to possess a gun.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482