Vigilgoers plead for anyone with information on shootings of baby, man to come forward

Huddled beside a memorial of candles, children's drawings and notes, a few dozen people held hands and prayed as dusk fell Monday at the spot where a baby and a young Minneapolis man were shot and killed a day earlier outside a home in the 1100 block of E. 26th Street.

They beseeched anyone with information about the brazen daytime slaying of 8-month-old Jayden Redden and 20-year-old Gustav D. Christianson to tell police what they know.

As of Monday night, no arrests had been made.

The baby's mother, who wasn't identified, didn't have the strength to attend the vigil, V.J. Smith of MAD DADS said. Siblings, nieces, nephews and cousins of Christianson were there with friends and community members.

Among the small crowd was Lashae Jones, who carried her 18-month-old daughter, Mela. Jones came hoping to connect with Jayden's mother, and organizers of the vigil promised to put the two in touch. Jones is the mother of 2-year-old Le'Vonte, who was killed in early July in a drive-by shooting at Penn and Lowry Avenues N. Mela was shot in the leg.

"It's painful [to lose a child]," Jones said.

Minneapolis City Council Member Alondra Cano, who represents the Phillips neighborhood, said she was "saddened, shocked and horrified" by the killings.

Christianson's sister Julia Johnson of Minneapolis, the mother of seven, said she had barely slept since the shooting and had been at the crime scene almost nonstop.

"I just need to feel my brother's presence," she said. "I want him back."

She said her 14-year-old son is so upset that he won't come out of his bedroom. Her 3-year-old daughter had a huge crush on her uncle and keeps asking for "Uncle Gus, Uncle Gus."

Johnson said she talked to an investigator late Sunday who said they have "pretty good leads" on a suspect and are "getting pretty close" to an arrest.

Christianson had been released from prison after serving two years of a three-year sentence for second-degree assault. He was working part-time as a cook at Culver's restaurant, his brother Dallas Thompson said at the vigil.

Christianson "wanted to change his life," said James Cross, of the American Indian Prison Project Working Group.

Christianson was the youngest of six surviving children, Johnson said. A sister died in April 2011, their mother in April 2012. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses. It is underGustav Christianson's name.

"People ought to remember, we're all human at the end of the day," Christianson's brother Gomer Thompson said. "Gus was a good kid. He was on the right path.

"Come forward," Thompson urged.

The slayings were the city's 27th and 28th homicides of the year.

Pat Pheifer • 612-673-7252; Libor Jany • 612-673-4064