Man Charged in Downtown Minneapolis Shooting That Injured 2

Aug 31

*Officers outside the courtyard where the shooting happened.* ***MN CRIME PHOTO***

A Minneapolis man accused of opening fire on two men near a downtown apartment complex earlier this month is now charged with three felonies.

19-year-old Keontre Orie Emery Jackson is charged with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of threats of violence, following a shooting Aug. 7 near 14th Street East and Nicollet Avenue.

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One victim was shot in the back, with the bullet piercing a lung and exiting his chest. The second man was hit in the wrist.

According to investigators, officers responded just after 11:25 p.m. to a flurry of 911 calls about gunfire near an apartment complex on Nicollet Avenue. They arrived to find the two men suffering from gunshot wounds and were told by a woman at the scene—later identified as Jackson’s girlfriend—that Jackson had assaulted her earlier that evening and then threatened to shoot her in the face. She had fled the apartment and warned her brother and another man, who then walked outside moments before the shooting began.

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Surveillance footage from the apartment complex captured the shooter—believed to be Jackson—walking through the courtyard wearing a red sweatshirt and carrying a blue duffel bag. When the two victims appeared at the gate, the shooter dropped the bag, pulled a handgun from his waistband, and opened fire, chasing the men up a ramp while continuing to shoot. One of the victims returned fire as they ran. Crime lab technicians later recovered 9mm and .45 caliber shell casings, bullet fragments and a black shoe at the scene.

Police arrested Jackson on Aug. 26. He was carrying a 9mm pistol at the time. When questioned, he claimed he hadn’t been at the apartment complex on Aug. 7 and said he was at his aunt’s house that night, though he couldn’t recall which day of the week that was.

*Police and EMS staged on Nicollet after the shooting.* ***MN CRIME PHOTO***

When confronted with the surveillance video, Jackson said it showed a Black male but denied it was him, arguing there was no facial recognition. He later said that if the gun he had was linked to the shooting, the person he bought it from—described only as a “random dude” near 17th and Nicollet—must have committed the shooting. Investigators executed a search warrant at his mother’s residence and found a duffel bag, red sweatshirt and jeans matching those seen in the video.

A judge set conditional bail for Jackson at $150,000 and unconditional bail at $250,000. If released, Jackson would be required to stay law-abiding, remain in Minnesota unless granted court approval, follow geographic restrictions around the victim’s residence, submit to electronic monitoring, and comply with all directions from probation. He must also have no contact with the listed victims and is under a domestic abuse no-contact order.

Jackson remains in custody.

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