Two with gang ties charged in HCMC shooting

Two men have been charged in connection with the brazen daytime shooting Aug. 26 outside of Hennepin County Medical Center, apparently a gang retaliation for an altercation a few hours earlier, prosecutors said.

Authorities said two alleged members of the Tens gang, Vysean Ivory Johnson, who was 25 at the time of the shooting, and Percy Minifer Lacey, 21, drove to the downtown hospital to confront a group of rival Blood gang members who had tried to jump Lacey earlier that day.

After a brief scuffle outside the entrance to the hospital's emergency room, Lacey opened fire on the rival gang members, according to a criminal complaint filed last week by the Hennepin County attorney's office.

Johnson and Lacey each were charged with two counts of second-degree attempted murder, prosecutors said. In addition, Lacey was charged with possession of a weapon by an ineligible person. They were being held on $1 million bail.

Witnesses told police that Johnson instructed Lacey to "air it out" after being knocked down in what to that point had been a physical confrontation between the two groups.

The shooting elevated concerns about security at one of the state's busiest hospitals, prompting the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office to assign additional deputies to patrol the area.