A bottle of booze swiped from a patron's table in a downtown Minneapolis bar ignited gunfire outside that critically wounded a woman and left a man with bullet holes in his buttocks, according to charges against the 31-year-old suspect.
Sherman D. Alexander of Brooklyn Center was charged Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and illegal possession of a firearm in connection with the shooting around bar closing time early Monday in the 500 block of Hennepin Avenue S.
Alexander, who has four felony convictions on his record, remained jailed Sunday in lieu of $150,000 bail.
The woman, 28, was shot in the hip and hospitalized with critical injuries, the charges against Alexander said. The man, 48, who was shot in the buttocks, has survived his wounds, the criminal complaint added. Authorities have not released the victims' identities.
According to the complaint:
A 28-year-old man told police that he and his girlfriend, the 28-year-old woman, were in the Pourhouse. A man he did not know "attempted to steal a bottle of alcohol from his table," the charging document read.
A "physical fight ensued," and the couple left the bar and were getting into their car when numerous shots were fired. The 28-year-old man said he was the gunman's intended target and not the two people who were wounded.
An off-duty officer inside the Pourhouse heard the gunfire, went outside and saw Alexander running and continuing to shoot. The officer cornered Alexander hiding in a car and arrested him. The gun was recovered from the vehicle.
