6 Somali men shot to death since December

Abdishakur Adan Hassan, killed Monday as he went to the Village Market Mall in Minneapolis for a haircut, was the sixth Twin Cities Somali man slain since December.

By DAVID CHANEN, Star Tribune

Last update: September 30, 2008 - 8:45 PM

Since December, six Somali men from the Twin Cities, all under 40, have been shot to death. It's a disturbing trend that has police and local Somali leaders working together to find solutions to stop the violence.

The most recent victim was Abdishakur Adan Hassan, 21, of Minneapolis. On Monday, the eve of a major religious holiday in the Somali Muslim community, he went to get a haircut at a crowded mall in south Minneapolis. He was shot in the chest in a back parking lot of the Village Market Mall about 9 p.m.

"We are not just looking at this case, but more broadly at the violence in the Somali community to see if there are any connections or patterns," Capt. Amelia Huffman Tuesday.

It was too early to know why Hassan was killed, she said, but witnesses have come forward with information. Hassan had been kicked out the mall earlier in the day, police said, but it's unclear if that played a role in his death.

Hassan's death doesn't appear to be related to the shooting death of 20-year-old Augsburg College student Ahmednur Ali or a shooting in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood this weekend. A 16-year-old has been arrested in Ali's death.

The increasing violence has parents scared and their children wondering who might be next, said Shukri Omar, Hassan's cousin.

"To be honest, I don't know what's going on with my people," she said. "We came to the United States because of the fighting in Somalia, to get a great education, to live a better life."

Police have been meeting with community members to enlist their help to hand out crime prevention information and identify problems before they get out of control, said Third Precinct police Inspector Lucy Gerold. There has been some lower level crime around the mall, but "it's not constantly on our radar as a source of problems," she said.

Hassan emigrated to the United States in 1997 and grew up in Minneapolis, graduating from Edison High School. His stepsister dropped him off at the mall, at 912 E. 24th St., but he was shot before she could find a parking spot, said Omar.

"I don't think he had a beef with anybody. Maybe somebody started something with him," she said.

In June, Hassan was charged with felony fourth-degree assault and misdemeanor obstructing arrest. He was cited for public drinking and was given a ride home by police officers. But he was upset that his car was going to be towed and he hit the squad car as it was driving away, the court document said.

Martin Mohammed, president of the African Chamber of Commerce in Minneapolis, didn't know Hassan. Some of the aggression coming from Somali immigrants might be rooted in the civil war and tribal conflicts, he said.

"For some reason we have lost the traditional way of solving problems through mediation and conflict resolution," he said. "I'm troubled that a community with a good reputation might be damaged because of the violence."

Other than the arrest in the Ali case, none of the other homicides has been solved. Omar said she is hopeful police will find her cousin's killer. Instead of celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the fast-breaking festival that ends the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Hassan's family will plan a funeral.

"He was such a great guy. He liked to make jokes and make people laugh," Omar said.

David Chanen • 612-673-4465

Recent Local + Metro stories

3M chemicals found in residents' blood - September 30, 2008

3M chemicals found in residents' blood - Chemical levels in 196 adults are higher than national averages, but officials said their disease risk isn't greater. More