Gang members clashed just before gunfire outside graduation at Burnsville High School, charges say

Two 18-year-olds were charged Monday with driving by Burnsville High School and opening fire at suspected gang rivals while graduation attendees were leaving.

Abdikani Mukhtar Abdiwahab of Bloomington was charged in Dakota County District Court with two counts of drive-by shooting and two more counts of aiding an offender. Alleged accomplice Abdulahi Jama Ali of Shakopee was also was charged with two drive-by shooting counts, along with second-degree assault.

Ali remains jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail ahead of a June 24 court date. Abdiwahab’s bail was set at $75,000. He’s due in court on June 25. Attorneys for both men were either unavailable to comment or have yet to be appointed as of Monday afternoon.

Two other 18-year-old men were arrested in connection with Friday’s mayhem. One was charged with misdemeanor trespassing, while the other was released without being charged.

Burnsville police said the fights were reported at 8:30 p.m., about 30 minutes after the ceremony at Bob Pates Stadium near Hwy. 13 and Portland Avenue. Police heard gunshots at the scene, but no one was injured, authorities said.

“We’re deeply saddened that this took place following what had been a joyous celebration with our graduates and their families,” Theresa Battle, superintendent of the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage school district, said in a statement. “We’re grateful that no one was injured and for the immediate response of Burnsville police and other law enforcement agencies to the scene.”

According to the charges:

Two groups of people were arguing and flashing gang signs at each other as officers attempted to break up several fights.

The officers heard gunfire coming from the west side of the high school, where bystanders directed police to a Toyota Camry with two occupants, later identified as Ali and Abdiwahab.

A bystander in a leopard print jacket was heard saying, “You missed.”

Officers arrested both teenagers and seized from the car a handgun with an extended magazine from under the driver’s seat and a bullet casing from the driver’s side floorboard. Police found two more bullet casings outside and a parked vehicle with a bullet fragment lodged in the driver’s side headlight.

Two people in a vehicle behind the Camry told police they saw Abdiwahab driving recklessly. They also saw the bystander in the leopard print jacket try to punch the car with his fist.

In response, the witnesses continued, they saw “the barrel of a gun come out of the front passenger window and open fire,” the criminal complaints read.

Law enforcement collected DNA samples from the gun to confirm the identity of the shooter.

On May 31, two people were shot outside 3M Arena at Mariucci at the University of Minnesota following Wayzata High School’s graduation. A 20-year-old man was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault, along with illegal gun possession.