Teen fatally shot in north Minneapolis worked for Republican congressional candidate

Officials at Patrick Henry High school ID'd the teen in a Facebook post and said that grief counselors would be available to students.

September 16, 2020 at 2:34AM
Lacy Johnson, Republican challenger to U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, speaks in Minneapolis in 2018.
Lacy Johnson, Republican challenger to U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, speaks in Minneapolis in 2018. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Minneapolis police continued their search Tuesday for a suspect or suspects they say fatally shot a Patrick Henry High School student who was standing outside a North Side convenience store the day before.

School officials in a Facebook post said Andre Conley was entering his senior year, adding that grief counselors would be available to students.

"We know this event affects our school community greatly. We all share in the grief and sense of loss, and we are working together to support the family, as well as our students and staff," the post read. "We have school counselors, social workers and other staff available to speak with students at any time during the day."

The 17-year-old had recently worked for Republican congressional candidate Lacy Johnson, campaign staff confirmed in a statement Tuesday.

Conley was standing with a group of people in the parking lot of the Super USA, at 3807 N. Fremont Av., when witnesses reported that a green truck pulled up and gunfire erupted.

Responding officers tried to revive the teen before he was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died, according to police. Another victim, a man, suffered serious gunshot injuries but is expected to survive, police said.

No arrests have been announced.

Johnson's campaign confirmed that the two victims were part of the outreach campaign in his challenge to Rep. Ilhan Omar for Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District seat. They were not involved in campaign activities at the time the shooting occurred.

"It is shocking and unnecessary acts of violence like this that prove why change is more needed than ever in our community," the campaign said in its statement.

The boy was the city's 59th homicide victim of the year — and the ninth who was 18 or under — according to a database maintained by the Star Tribune.

about the writers

Abby Simons

Team Leader

Abby Simons is the Star Tribune’s Public Safety Editor. Her team covers crime and courts across the metro. She joined the Star Tribune in 2008 and previously reported on crime, courts and politics.

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Libor Jany

Reporter

Libor Jany is the Minneapolis crime reporter for the Star Tribune. He joined the newspaper in 2013, after stints in newsrooms in Connecticut, New Jersey, California and Mississippi. He spent his first year working out of the paper's Washington County bureau, focusing on transportation and education issues, before moving to the Dakota County team.

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