A jury on Thursday found a 26-year-old Lauderdale man guilty of attempted murder and assault for shooting at five Somali men last summer, wounding two of them, in what many Muslims considered a hate crime.
The jury deliberated for a day and a half before finding Anthony John Sawina guilty on all nine counts. His mother sobbed as the Hennepin District Court clerk read the verdicts.
"The evidence showed that his conduct was reprehensible and shocking," County Attorney Mike Freeman said after the verdict. Freeman said he would seek a prison sentence "north of 20 years" for Sawina.
Sawina was with a group of friends in Dinkytown about 2:30 a.m. on June 29 when they saw five Somali men, including one who was wearing traditional clothing for Ramadan.
As the Somalis were in a car, they heard someone from Sawina's group say "[expletive] Muslims."
After at least one of the men got out of the car to confront the group, witnesses testified that Sawina said "I'm saying [expletive] Muslims. What are you going to do about it?"
Sawina pulled out a handgun and pointed it toward the windshield, according to the charges. He walked around to the back of the car and fired at least twice through an open door, hitting two men in the back seat in the legs. Another bullet nearly hit the driver's head. Sawina did not report the shooting to police. Instead, a witness identified him as the shooter to police, who arrested him about a month later.
"The defendant made an intentional and premeditated decision to kill the young men in that car," assistant county attorney Pat Lofton said in his closing arguments. "He said, 'I have a permit to carry and I'm going to kill you all.' "
