A St. Paul man allegedly fired a gun at his cousin thinking it was empty, but ended up fatally shooting him in the head, according to charges.

Abdirahman Mohamed Adam, 21, was charged Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court with felony second-degree manslaughter in the death of Mohamed Abdi Mohamud, 22.

Authorities allege that Adam fired a handgun at Mohamud, his cousin, on Dec. 2. Mohamud was taken by private vehicle to Regions Hospital and died Dec. 9.

Mohamud suffered a traumatic brain injury from being shot below the left eye.

According to the complaint: Adam allegedly told police that he, Mohamud and some friends went to Harriet Island and shot off a handgun belonging to one of the friends.

Adam fired one shot, and Mohamud fired six shots until the gun clicked, which Adam thought signified that it was empty.

They placed the gun in the console of the car owned and being driven by Adam. The group drove to Dunning Recreation Center to buy marijuana.

"Adam saw other friends in the area and he grabbed the handgun before he got out of the Dart in an attempt to be cool," the complaint said.

Adam allegedly admitted to pointing the gun at a friend in a different car, and then pointed it at Mohamud in the front passenger seat of Adam's car.

Adam allegedly pulled the trigger, striking Mohamud.

In an unrelated case, St. Paul police on Wednesday identified the victim of the city's first homicide of the year as 29-year-old Devon L. McClellan of St. Paul.

McClellan was shot Monday evening in an alley in the 400 block of University Avenue W. He was taken by private vehicle to Regions Hospital, where he died early Tuesday.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708 Twitter: @ChaoStrib