A year and a half after a man was shot dead outside a downtown auto-body shop, Minneapolis homicide detectives are hoping that a series of text messages sent before the slaying could lead to new information to help solve the crime.
Police take fresh look at 2013 slaying
Homicide detectives are taking a fresh look at the October 2013 slaying of a man killed in shooting outside Bobby and Steve’s Auto World in downtown Minneapolis two years ago.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 16, 2015 at 11:49PM
Police are examining the text message history of a woman who attempted to buy drugs from Abdirahman H. Haji-Ahmed, 26, on the night of his death, because it "may contain critical information regarding this ongoing homicide investigation," according to a search warrant filed last month in Hennepin County District Court. Of particular interest to investigators is a string of text messages between the woman and a male relative, whom they suspect of shooting Haji-Ahmed.
The two had spoken several times before the shooting, investigators concluded, after examining the woman's cell phone records and talking to a person with whom she had spoken to about the crime.
A department spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
Police found Haji-Ahmed slumped in a car parked outside Bobby and Steve's Auto World on Oct. 30, 2013 after responding to a report of shots fired, the warrant said. A witness reported hearing gunshots just before midnight, then seeing a man in a "two tone" jacket fleeing the scene a few moments later, the warrant said.
Surveillance video shows the woman's car arriving at the auto shop near the Interstate-35W overpass shortly before the shooting and the suspected shooter getting out. Moments later, shots rang out.
At the time, there was some speculation that the shooting stemmed from a long-simmering feud between rival Somali gangs, but investigators and community leaders said they had found no such link.
The returns were filed on behalf of themselves and others, according to federal prosecutors.
