DULUTH 鈥� One of two suspects in a Duluth homicide had challenged a foe to a fight moments before he and a friend fired multiple rounds at the rival group, killing one and injuring another.
That is according to criminal complaints filed Friday in State District Court charging Sanussi Tamsir Bangoura, 21, and Brandon Capone Williams-Gillard, 25, with aiding and abetting intentional second-degree murder, second-degree assault and drive-by shooting.
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Paris Allen, 19, of Duluth, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after the Wednesday altercation in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, the Duluth Police Department confirmed.
An 18-year-old, identified in court documents by initials C.A.R.N., was struck in the "buttocks region" and was expected to survive, according to court filings. Police denied a request to release his identity Friday, citing a highly complex investigation that remains ongoing.
According to the complaints:
Williams-Gillard and Bangoura had a "contentious history" with Jackson Morales, who they came upon in a parking lot near 24th Avenue West and West Third Street shortly before 1:30 p.m.
Williams-Gillard, a passenger in Bangoura's blue Chrysler 300, got out and hit the hood of Morales' black Acura, proposing that they "box." Morales then suggested they "box" down the street.
Morales drove out of the parking lot, while calling his friends to come outside and help him with the fight. He circled the block a couple times as Bangoura and Williams-Gillard followed.
When they came back to the 2500 block of West Second Street, four of Morales' friends were outside and Bangoura stopped his car. Video showed Morales' group approaching the Chrysler, with C.A.R.N. throwing a punch through an open window at the driver.
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"Almost immediately after the punch was thrown, the blue Chrysler began to drive away," the complaints state. "As he was driving, defendant Bangoura reached out the driver鈥檚 side window with a handgun and fired multiple shots at Mr. Morales鈥� group."
Morales' group ducked and lay flat on the ground to dodge the gunfire that flew in broad daylight on the residential street, near several tightly packed homes and a day care center where young children were asleep.
C.A.R.N. was able to get up and was driven to the hospital by Morales and another friend, but Allen remained on the ground with the gunshot wound to his head. A 911 call was placed at 1:29 p.m. and he was rushed by ambulance to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:25 p.m.
Meanwhile, Bangoura and Williams-Gillard continued on with a previously planned trip to the Firestone tire store. They then split up, with Williams-Gillard joining three others to shop at the Miller Hill Mall while Bangoura was seen at a Kwik Trip.
Morales' friend, who is not identified in the complaint, was seen leaving the hospital in the Acura. Within minutes, at 1:59 p.m., multiple shots were reportedly fired from the vehicle near Williams-Gillard and Bangoura's residence, 3904 W. Fourth St.
The shots, however, were apparently misguided as they instead struck the home of Karon Zetina, who resides two doors down. She was sitting near a front window when she heard the shots, which shattered her glass storm door and left several holes in the siding.
Bangoura arrived home a short time later and was met with officers, who were already on scene. He admitted to having a contentious history with Morales but denied having anything to do with the shooting.
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The tactical response team staged outside the defendant's Denfeld duplex, and were heard using a loudspeaker to demand that anyone inside exit with their hands up, but Williams-Gillard was ultimately found at another, unspecified residence shortly after 7 p.m. with the people who had accompanied him to the mall.
He admitted that they had been in a confrontation with Morales and followed him, with shots eventually fired. But he said he ducked and did not see what happened.
However, a man who was with Williams-Gillard said the defendant told him he fired two or three times, in addition to the multiple shots fired by Bangoura.
A woman also recalled Williams-Gillard stating that a man had punched Bangoura in the face and that Bangoura pulled a gun and "may have hit someone" as he "emptied a whole clip." She also told police that Williams-Gillard admitted firing two shots.
Eight .40-caliber casings were found on the 2500 block of West Second Street. Inside the Chrysler, investigators found one additional .40-caliber casing and five spent 9 mm casings.
It's not yet clear who fired the rounds that struck the victims, though authorities said Bangoura was believed to have fired the majority of the shots. Evidence was sent for forensic testing, which generally takes months to complete.
Police did not provide any update on the retaliatory shooting in the Denfeld neighborhood. There did not appear to be any arrests or charges as of Friday afternoon.
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Bangoura is on probation in Pine County for carrying a pistol without a permit. The charge stemmed from a road range incident along Interstate 35 last September in which he allegedly pointed a gun at another motorist. An assault charge was dropped under a plea agreement reached in May.
Court records indicate Bangoura successfully completed a stayed sentence in juvenile court for third-degree criminal sexual conduct. He currently has pending cases for fifth-degree assault and furnishing alcohol to a minor.
Williams-Gillard, formerly known as Brandon Capone Overstreet, is under supervised release in Wisconsin after serving a two-year prison term for possessing a firearm after a felony conviction.
He has a number of other convictions in Minnesota, including drug possession, criminal vehicular operation, fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, domestic assault and violating a domestic abuse no-contact order. A pending impaired driving case is scheduled to be heard by a Duluth jury next week.
Judge Shawn Pearson granted a request from St. Louis County prosecutor Vicky Wanta to set the men's bail at $750,000, though Williams-Gillard remains subject to a parole violation hold. Their next court dates were set for Aug. 28.
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