19-year-old charged in shooting that injured 3 teens near State Fair, charter school

A 19-year-old has been charged in connection with a shooting that left three teens injured in St. Paul in early September.

Musharaf Zainab Arab faces three counts of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of drive-by shooting.

As previously reported, St. Paul officers were called to a report of a shooting near a charter school on the 1000 block of Snelling Avenue North around 10:20 p.m. on Sept. 2.

There, they found a teenager who had been shot in the leg. According to a criminal complaint, the teen told police he was walking to his friend’s car in the parking lot when he heard gunshots. He ran to the train tracks to get away from the gunfire and realized he had been shot.

Officers found 53 spent casings under the Snelling Avenue bridge and noted that there appeared to be three separate groups of casings. There were 20 9mm casings in the middle of the road, 16 .40 claiber casings near the railroad tracks and another group of 17 9mm casings on another part of the road. Officers determined that three different firearms were used.

They then learned about two more victims — one had been shot in the calf and the other had a gunshot wound that entered near his earlobe and exited at the back of his neck.

One of the victims said he was in the parking lot when he heard what he thought were fireworks, according to court documents. He thought he had been hit by one but saw blood soaking through his pants and ran. His cousin brought him to the hospital.

The third victim said he was leaving the fair with his friends and heading to a friend’s car when they heard over 10 gunshots. He realized he had been shot and fell over and his friend brought him to the hospital.

Both vehicles that brought the victims to the hospital had bullet holes in them.

A man who was with one of the victims said he saw muzzle flashes under the Snelling Avenue bridge.

Surveillance video showed a blue sedan park under the Snelling Avenue bridge and several people get out. Shooters fired at the victims from the street and another shot from the train tracks.

The three victims were seen walking together in the parking lot and running when the shots were fired. Surveillance video then showed the shooters get back into the vehicle and leave.

A few hours later, Ramsey Counties deputies responded to a drive-by shooting at a gas station in Little Canada. Surveillance video showed a blue sedan in the area before and after the shooting. Five 9mm and two .40 caliber casings were found at the scene, court documents state.

Investigators determined that Arab was the owner of the blue sedan, and his cell phone pinged in several areas where the sedan’s license plate was seen.

Cell phone data placed Arab at the scene of the Snelling Avenue shooting and the shooting in Little Canada. Court documents state the same guns were used in both shootings.