On September 26, 2025, Minneapolis Police were dispatched to a Circle K Station located on Central Avenue NE in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. Upon arriving officers spoke with the gas station manager who relayed the following: Earlier that day, a man, later identified as ALAN ISAIAH WINGHAM [DOB REDACTED], had entered the station and loudly stated "wouldn't be it be crazy if I killed everybody in this gas station!" The manager, who had heard the raised voice from his office, was quickly told about the substance of the statement from staff.
The manager then approached WHIGHAM and asked him to leave. The manager also told WINGHAM that police had been called. WHIGHAM threatened to shoot anyone who came near him, said he would shoot the police, and made comments about a shootout. The manager noted a bulky object in WHIGHAM's pocket and believed it could have been a weapon. The manager, fearing for the safety of those in the store, was eventually able to get WHIGHAM to leave the store. This happened just before officers arrived. Law enforcement was able to review surveillance footage of the incident.
Based on that, and comparison with known images, they preliminarily identified WHIGHAM as the suspect. Later, on December 8, 2025, an investigator with the Minneapolis police located WHIGHAM in custody in another county on unrelated matters. The investigator was able to conduct an interview of WHIGHAM at that facility. During the interview WHIGHAM, after having been show stills of surveillance video of the incident, admitted to having been at the Circle K Station but denied having made threats. He also admitted to having used methamphetamine around the time of the incident.