16-year-old charged with attempted murder, assault, in botched robbery shooting

A 16-year-old has been charged in connection with a shooting in Coon Rapids in September.

Nasiah Edward Hinton faces one count of attempted first-degree murder and one count of first-degree assault in Anoka County Adult Court.

According to court documents, officers responded to a shooting near the intersection of 113th Avenue NW and Robinson Drive on Sept. 27. The 911 caller said that her friend had been shot in the arm and she had been shot at. She then said they were going to a home on 120th Avenue NW.

When officers got to the home, they found the 18-year-old victim with gunshot wounds to his left bicep and the left side of his chest. While at the hospital, a third gunshot wound was found on the other side of the victim’s arm. Investigators believe the bullet entered the left side of the victim’s arm, exited through the right side and went into his chest — millimeters from his heart, court documents state.

The victim first denied that the shooting was over a drug sale, but later told police he was meeting someone to sell them “Geek Bars” when he was shot.

At the hospital, he told officers he had been messaging someone who wanted to buy vapes from him. The two agreed to meet up.

When the victim got to the meeting place, the suspect approached his car and pointed a gun at him. The victim said he gave the suspect three “Geek Bars” but refused to give him his phone and wallet, so the suspect shot him.

A witness said that she was in the victim’s vehicle when three or four people came up and tried to rob them. The victim tried to drive away and was shot, court documents state. She later told police that the victim had been messaging someone about selling them vapes. Other witnesses gave similar stories to authorities.

Authorities pulled up the suspect’s profile on the messaging app, which included photos of him, and the victim confirmed that he was the person who shot him.

Officers shared the photo with Coon Rapids school liaison officers, and an assistant principal was able to identify the person in the photo as a student at the school — Hinton. Hinton’s school photo matched the photo of the suspect, according to court documents.

While executing a search warrant at his home, police found two handguns, a vape stick and a THC cartridge.