A man shot another man three times outside a Minneapolis apartment building after yelling, “Don’t reach,” according to charges. Police responded around 2:38 p.m. on Aug. 30 and found the wounded man upstairs in the building.
James Michael Anderson, 38, of Minneapolis, is charged with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon causing substantial bodily harm and possession of a firearm as a prohibited person.
According to the complaint, the victim had gone to another apartment to confront a resident when he saw the shooter outside speaking with someone near a van. He recognized the man from an encounter a few days earlier in which the man had pointed a gun at him.
The victim went outside to confront him. He recalled the man saying something about not reaching or grabbing before opening fire. Witnesses also reported hearing the shooter yell, “Don’t reach,” before firing several times.
The victim ran upstairs after being shot. He had wounds above his belly button, below his left ribs and on a thigh, and was taken to a hospital for emergency surgery.
The victim and a witness described a man with a scar on his left cheek who had arrived in a minivan. A witness supplied a phone number that investigators traced to Anderson.
Anderson owned a minivan matching the description and license plate reported by witnesses. Security video showed a gray minivan arriving before the shooting, and cellphone location records placed Anderson at the scene, according to the complaint.
A witness said the shooter called shortly afterward and urged them not to say anything. Investigators found a record of the call on Anderson’s phone.
Officers arrested Anderson on Sept. 15 and found him carrying a loaded .40-caliber pistol. The complaint describes the gun as consistent with casings recovered at the shooting scene.
Prosecutors say prior felony convictions prohibit Anderson from possessing firearms.
