3:13A 36-year-old Maple Plain man was charged Tuesday with assault in connection with a confrontation Saturday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport that ended when police shot and wounded him.
Mohamud Mohammed Maye, who faces three counts of first-degree assault, will make his first court appearance Wednesday, according to the Hennepin County attorney's office. Maye also uses the alias of Abdul Kadir Sheikh Mahmoud, authorities say.
According to the charges:
Just after 10:15 p.m. Saturday, deputies responded to a report of an officer-involved shooting in the rental car area outside Terminal 1. They interviewed the airport police officers involved and witnesses.
The officers were responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle when another vehicle drove at and struck them, the charges say. It first accelerated toward an officer on bike patrol who had to leap from the bike to avoid being struck. The car hit the bike and sent it flying. It then drove directly at an unoccupied squad car and rammed it. Officers standing outside the car repeatedly ordered the driver to stop, but he backed up his vehicle and struck them. Officers fired at the vehicle, causing it to crash.
Maye was arrested and taken to a hospital for treatment of his wounds. He is being held in the Hennepin County jail. The officer on the bike and one of those hit by the car suffered minor injuries.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said it is still unknown why Maye allegedly drove his car toward the officers. He added that there is no known connection between Maye and recent car thefts at airport rental car agencies.
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