Shooter killed man in Minneapolis parking lot as bars emptied, photographed dying victim, charges say

A gunman unleashed "a barrage of rounds" into the back of his intended target in a crowded downtown Minneapolis parking lot as bars were emptying, then took a cellphone photo of the man's lifeless body before fleeing, according to charges filed against an accomplice.

Cleveland C. Longmire, 28, of Brooklyn Center, was charged Monday in Hennepin County District Court with first-degree riot resulting in death, aiding an offender and illegal weapons possession in connection with the shooting July 28 that killed 20-year-old Chante L. Williams, of St. Paul, and wounded two other people in the 300 block of N. 1st Avenue.

The criminal complaint against Longmire identifies the alleged shooter by name as "the principal codefendant," but charges against him have yet to be made publicly available.The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before charges are made public.

The court may have allowed that complaint to be filed under seal in order to give law enforcement time to arrest the suspect without alerting him that he's been identified as a wanted man.

Longmire was jailed Monday and turned over Tuesday to U.S. agents in connection with a related federal indictment alleging illegal weapons possession. Attorneys for Longmire were not immediately available for reaction to the allegations.

The state charges against Longmire also tie him to a second shooting downtown on Sept. 17 that occurred under "uncannily similar circumstances," the criminal complaint read. "Longmire can be seen talking to the ... victim as another male associated with Defendant Longmire approaches and shoots the victim in the back."

On July 28, officers were dispatched in response to an altercation at a bar and saw a crowd in an adjacent parking lot. Two minutes later, they heard rapid gunfire and saw three people fall to the parking lot pavement, the complaint read.

Officers located nearly two dozen .40-caliber discharged cartridge casings near Williams' body and three from a 9-millimeter gun, the complaint added. A loaded Walther 9-millimeter handgun also was near him and appeared to not have been fired.

Also nearby was an SUV belonging to Longmire. Officers immediately seized two Glock handguns from inside, one a .40-caliber and the other a 9-millimeter that DNA evidence tied to Longmire, the charges continued. The .40-caliber was outfitted with an "auto sear," which turns a semiautomatic firearm into an automatic, allowing it to fire multiple times with a single trigger squeeze.

Bar interior video images put Longmire and his accomplice, both suspected members of the same street gang, in the establishment during the altercation.

Exterior video surveillance imagery offered a details of the rapidly unfolding events in the moments leading up to, during and immediately after the shooting:

Williams approached the SUV and spoke with Longmire and two others in the vehicle. Others congregated near the SUV, including the man who would shoot Williams.

With a half-dozen or so people near Williams and "hundreds of bar patrons ... within a block radius," Longmire shot two or three times in front of Williams' feet.

The gunfire sent everyone nearby fleeing except for Longmire's accomplice, who "fired a barrage of rounds directly at [Williams'] back from approximately 8 to 12 feet. ... A constant muzzle flash was visible for a complete second."

That same onslaught of gunfire struck the other two victims as they ran away.

Longmire's accomplice "took out his cellphone and took a photograph of [Williams'] lifeless body."

An officer spoke with Longmire immediately afterward and asked whether he saw any suspects. Longmire pointed across the street and "gave statements [that] were obviously false and benefitted [his accomplice's] escape."