Shooter Kills Customer, Injures Server in Bloomington Restaurant
Officers at the scene of a shooting at Co Tu Oriental Cuisine in Bloomington on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. Photo via Minnesota News Now
Suspect Aaron Le
BPD Chief Booker Hodges on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022
A 49-year-old man was killed and a 25-year-old server was injured in a shooting early this afternoon at a Vietnamese restaurant in Bloomington, police have confirmed.
Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges says the suspect is still at large and believed to be armed after leaving one handgun on a table inside Co Tu Oriental Cuisine at 8907 Penn Ave. S.
“The person that did this today is nothing but a cold-blooded killer," Hodges said.
The suspect--described as an Asian male wearing a maroon hoodie and purple surgical gloves--initially brandished a weapon when first entering the restaurant around 1 p.m.
Patrons and staff confronted the suspect and pushed him out of the restaurant twice before he returned again and "shot two people in cold blood," Hodges said.
The suspect is then believed to have fled in a vehicle, described in dispatch audio as a white work or cargo van with no plates.
The 48-year-old male victim was struck multiple times and died at the scene. He was a frequent customer at the restaurant, Hodges said.
The 25-year-old male victim, who is a server at the restaurant, was shot in the leg, is still hospitalized and expected to recover.
This is the first homicide of 2022 in Bloomington, Hodges said in a media conference. In 2021, there was one.
UPDATE - Bloomington police say a suspect has been arrested in connection to the fatal shooting. Aaron Le, 47, of Texas, was believed to be driving a white Mercedes Sprinter van with no plates when he fled from the shooting scene.
Le was located and arrested around 12:30 a.m. Thursday in Oklahoma while driving the white Mercedes Sprinter van, police say. He's being held at the Kay County Detention Center in Newkirk, Okla.
Officers at the scene of a shooting at Co Tu Oriental Cuisine in Bloomington on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. Photo via Minnesota News Now
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