One of two suspects in Mall of America shooting is released from jail without charges

A 19-year-old St. Paul man who was one of two people arrested on suspicion of having a role in the New Year's Eve shooting at the Mall of America was released from jail early Wednesday afternoon after prosecutors found insufficient evidence to charge him.

Still jailed is an 18-year-old man from St. Paul who was arrested midafternoon Tuesday in Roseville, said Bloomington Deputy Police Chief Kimberly Clauson.

A gun was recovered by law enforcement at the scene in the 2600 block of Rice Street, said Clauson, who added Wednesday that the suspect "is believed to be the shooter" who wounded two people with a single gunshot.

In a statement released late Wednesday afternoon, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said that "based on available evidence ... it appears the shooter acted independently. Therefore, there is insufficient admissible evidence for prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that [the 19-year-old] intentionally aided and abetted the shooter. As a result, we are declining to file charges against [him]."

The suspected shooter remains in custody and his case is being reviewed for possible charges, the County Attorney's Office statement continued.

Bloomington police have released both suspects' names, but the Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.

Clauson added that police are not looking for any other suspects in the investigation of the shooting, which occurred about 5 p.m. Friday on the third floor of the vast mall. Shoppers ran for cover, and the mall was put on lockdown for roughly 45 minutes.

Interim Police Chief Mike Hartley told the Bloomington City Council on Monday that the bullet wounded one person in the leg, ricocheted and hit another person who wasn't taken to the hospital.

Clauson said the shooting did not appear to be random and likely involved two males in an altercation.

There have been three previous shootings at the Mall of America. The first was in December 1992, shortly after the mall opened, when an off-duty Minneapolis police officer fired four shots in a mall parking ramp after being ejected from a bar. The second came in February 1993, when three young men were arrested for wounding a worker and two others in what was then the Camp Snoopy amusement park; in response, the mall hired more security officers and increased security hours.

In January 1999, shots were exchanged in the mall by two groups in a confrontation, but no one was injured.

Star Tribune staff writer Kim Hyatt contributed to this report.