Authorities on Wednesday identified the man who police believe was purposely run over by an SUV driver and killed this week in St. Paul.
Two people are jailed in connection with the death of Al Rakip J. Zaidi, 21, of St. Paul, who was hit by a full-size SUV Tuesday near the intersection of E. 10th Street and Broadway Street near downtown, police said.
Zaidi's body was found in the street by a truck driver about 4:30 a.m. and Fire Department medics pronounced him dead at the scene, according to police. His injuries included severe head trauma, police added.
Police arrested two suspects. One, Rachel Hill Landis, 31, of Minneapolis, was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder without intent while committing a felony. The second suspect, a 31-year-old man from St. Paul, has not been charged.
Hill told police that she ran down Zaidi after he reached in to the car where she and her companion were living while they were sleeping and stole cash and a cell phone. Hill's companion was chasing Zaidi on foot when she struck Zaidi with the SUV . Hill and her companion then drove away and reported what had happened to police, but Zaidi's body was not found until later. When informed that he had died, Hill and her companion voluntarily went to police headquarters.
Zaidi's death is the city's 31st homicide of the year.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
