2 Charged in Connection to North Minneapolis Bus Stop Shooting that Injured Bystander

Clay has also been charged with fleeing a police officer in a vehicle.

The shooting was reported at 10:10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, near Fremont Avenue North and Dowling Avenue.

Officers arrived to find a man with a gunshot wound to his face. Several witnesses said the victim was at the bus stop when two different parties started shooting at each other. The victim was an innocent bystander and was shot in the crossfire, police say.

Two of the suspects involved in the shooting then left the scene in a silver Chevy Impala.

A third man, who was identified as the intended target of the shooting, spoke with police and said he was having a conversation with the victim when he heard eight gunshots, so he ran from the area. When he returned, he said he saw the victim bleeding from the face. He said he helped the victim and then boarded a Metro Transit bus.

Police saw the Chevy Impala in the area and tried to conduct a traffic stop. The passenger of the vehicle, later identified as Foote, got out of the Impala and fled on foot but was arrested, according to the criminal complaint.

While searching the area near the arrest, police say they found a black handgun wrapped in a black T-shirt.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as Clay, who was arrested after a brief chase. In an interview with police, Clay admitted to fleeing the officers, according to the criminal complaint.

Foote initially denied knowing anything about the shooting but later told police that he and Clay had seen someone at the bus stop who had previously shot at him and his friends. He said he and Clay parked around the block, walked up to the bus stop and started shooting at the target.

Foote said he shot his firearm about 10 times. He said he thought the person at the bus stop shot back, but he wasn’t sure.

Foote and Clay made their first court appearances Monday afternoon, and bail was set at $1 million.

“Random shooting on our streets must stop,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement. “Our aggressive prosecution of this case will reflect how seriously we consider these wanton acts. Clay and Foote deserve to do real time for their actions.”