On March 23, 2026, at approximately 11:01 PM, officers of the Rochester Police Department responded to a report of possible shots fired in the parking lot of Walmart North in the City of Rochester, Olmsted County, Minnesota. Complainants indicated that there were two shots fired and there was someone chasing vehicle. After arriving on scene Sgt. Arzola found two 9mm discharged cartridge casings; one on the sidewalk outside the store and one from the vehicle throughway. Multiple witnesses reported seeing males dressed in all black run into the grocery door entrance and a dark SUV stopped outside when shots rang out.
Dispatch advised that someone had called reporting they were involved in the shooting. Ofc. Jorgensen went and spoke with the reporting party- Victim 1 a juvenile male fully identified in police reports. Victim 1 reported that he was driving a Mazda CX-50 to Walmart and dropped one of his friends off. Victim1 remained outside in the vehicle when he saw his friend run from the store and back to his vehicle. At that point Victim1 heard two gun shots and then drove away. Ofc. Jorgensen observed that Victim1's vehicle had a punctured front passenger tire.
Victim1 identified a juvenile cousin of his that was also present, Victim 2 herein. Victim 2 stated he was dropping off his friend at Walmart to grab candy before the store closed. They were about to park when Victim 2 saw his friend running out of the store with people chasing him. Victim 2 stated he stepped out of the vehicle to try to de-escalate the situation when he heard gunshots. Det. Bottcher was assigned to investigate the case. Det. Bottcher was aware that on March 22, 2026, officers responded to ValleyHigh Flats on a report of a carjacking.
There, a man reported being assaulted and having his car stolen. Through surveillance video law enforcement was able to ascertain the assailant was Abdulahi Mohamed Abukar ([DOB REDACTED]), Defendant herein. Prior to the carjacking, surveillance also showed that Defendant was assaulted in a hallway of the apartment complex by a group of juveniles. Two of those juveniles were identified. The carjacking victim [NAME REDACTED] in the assault, but it appeared that Defendant thought he was and attacked him in retaliation.
The Walmart shooting incident was suspected to have been further retaliation for the beating. Det. Bottcher reviewed both the interior and exterior surveillance from Walmart. It showed that on March 23, 2026, at 10:44 PM, a blue Chevy Malibu with dark tint and parked in the fire lane. Three males exited the vehicle including Defendant who exited the driver's seat. The two males along with Defendant were identified as his brothers. At 10:59 PM a grey Mazda SUV driven by Victim 1 arrived and dropped off a 3 55-CR-26-2522 Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 4/9/2026 passenger.
