In murder trial, downtown Minneapolis nightclub shooter testifies he acted in self-defense

The man on trial for murder in connection with a mass shooting outside a downtown Minneapolis nightclub last year that killed two and wounded seven testified Tuesday that he acted in self-defense during a fight.

Jawan C. Carroll, 25, of St. Paul, took the stand to share what led up to the bar-close shootout while partying at the Monarch club with friends on May 22, 2021. His group got into a fight with another group before he shot at Christopher R. Jones Jr., 24, of Brooklyn Park, who died in an exchange of gunfire. A stray bullet struck Charlie B. Johnson, 21, of Golden Valley, in the back as he was running away. Johnson was killed just hours away from graduating from the University of St. Thomas.

Carroll said that when he fled the scene he was unaware of the fatalities. But he returned to his hotel room to throw away his clothes and .40 caliber gun, he said. He told prosecutors that he fired 10 rounds — first a series of four at Jones' torso, then about five more — and he didn't have a permit to carry.

"I didn't know anyone was harmed," he said.

Among the seven wounded, one woman was shot in the cheek and neck, with another bullet coming within an inch of her skull, according to charges. A man took three bullets to the shoulder and buttocks, and another man was grazed under his right eye.

Carroll is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder. His trial wrapped up in Hennepin County District Court after a week of testimony. Attorneys made closing arguments Tuesday and jury deliberations will begin Wednesday morning.

Last week, a friend of Jones' testified that their group of friends drank two bottles of liquor in the club that night and that Jones was intoxicated. He heard Jones tell Carroll's group of friends that "you know there's switches on these [expletive] right?" A switch is a device that turns a gun into a fully automatic weapon.

Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Joshua Larson repeatedly asked Carroll while on the stand Tuesday morning if he could've walked away from Jones to avoid the deadly shooting that was fully captured on surveillance video.

"I'm not turning my back on someone with a gun," Carroll said, adding that Jones threatened him with a gun first but Carroll allegedly said he wasn't looking for trouble because it was his birthday. One of Carroll's friends punched Jones before gunfire rang out.

Larson asked if Carroll noticed the swarm of people running away or first responders giving aid to the victims. He said no, "my focus was on Mr. Jones." Asked why he didn't stay at the scene to speak with police, Carroll said, "Was I was supposed to stick around with the gun in my hand?"

Carroll said he wouldn't go to police because he "would probably be dead," but Larson said there were other people at the scene who were armed and not killed by law enforcement.

Earlier in his testimony Tuesday, Carroll told his attorney Bruce Rivers that he wasn't trying to hide or run away, even though he could've left town that same night.

"I'm a 6-5 African American male," he said. "Bringing a gun to a police officer would be a one-way ticket to death."

Within several hours of the shooting, investigators learned that Carroll, who testified he was homeless, was living at the Comfort Inn in Bloomington. Officers arrested Carroll during a traffic stop.

When he gave his statement to police, Carroll said he didn't do anything and he was innocent because he knew the circumstances that led up to the shooting and put the blame on Jones.

Carroll testified that he didn't have any "personal animosity with Mr. Jones." But he knew that Jones had allegedly shot at one of Carroll's friends in 2015 and said Jones drew his firearm first.

"I was protecting myself from being murdered, being killed," Carroll said.

In his lengthy closing argument, Larson told jurors that Carroll cannot rely on self-defense in his act of "shocking and remorseless violence."

"What was this case about at a higher level? Totally unnecessary, totally excessive, totally unreasonable, intentional rapid-fire shooting," he said, which resulted in "two murders at bar close on a crowded sidewalk."