2 charged with attempted murder, assault for shooting that hurt 10-year-old on NYE

Two people are now facing charges six weeks after a shooting minutes before the start of the new year that left a 10-year-old boy seriously hurt in St. Paul.

Charging documents filed Thursday state that 26-year-old Morris Robert Chie Ryan and 28-year-old Kelci Marie Meyers are each charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and drive-by shooting.

RELATED: St. Paul records 1st homicide of year; boy critically injured in separate shooting

St. Paul police said officers were called to a home along Sherburne Avenue near North Avon Street at around 11:56 p.m. There, they found a 10-year-old boy who’d been shot in the stomach. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition, and police said the shots were fired from outside the home but were believed to have been targeted.

According to the charging documents, the gunshot punctured the boy’s bladder, small intestine, rectum and bowel, leaving him with possibly life-threatening injuries. However, he did survive.

Criminal complaints state that the boy’s mother was in the kitchen, making a video to celebrate the new year while her son was playing with Legos when the shots were fired through a kitchen window. The woman added that she heard a man in the alley say, “F*** y’all, m*****f******.”

Officers found seven spent 9 mm casings in the alley behind the home and 10 bullet holes in the window of the home. In reviewing surveillance video, they saw a dark-colored SUV circle the alley twice before the shooting, then pause for about 13 seconds before driving off at the time of the shooting. 14 gunshots were also audible on the video.

Investigators were able to determine that the SUV was registered to Ryan and saw that it had stopped at a nearby Speedway right after the shooting. Ryan and Meyers were seen getting out of the vehicle, and Meyers’ EBT card was used inside to buy drinks, according to court documents.

RELATED: Neighbors heard multiple gunshots when 10-year-old was shot New Year’s Eve

Officers later got a search warrant for the SUV and Meyers’ address and found clothing that matched what they were seen wearing right at the Speedway right after the shooting. Additionally, seven total guns were found in the home, two of which were 9 mm.

As for motive, the boy’s mother said she thought it was an old neighbor who she described as a “nuisance,” adding that he moved out but continued to return to cause trouble and threaten them.

While Ryan didn’t talk to investigators, Meyers said the neighbor described by the boy’s mother was her ex’s cousin, adding that he didn’t get along with the boy’s family. However, she claimed she hadn’t talked to the man since he moved out of the home and was taking Ryan’s mother to the airport on New Year’s Eve, the complaint states. Investigators then showed her the pictures of her at the Speedway right after the shooting and pressed her about it but she only replied that she “didn’t know what to say.”

Ryan and Meyers are each scheduled to make their first court appearance on Friday morning. They face up to 20 years in prison for attempted murder, 20 years for assault and 10 years for the drive-by shooting charge.