5 charged in tire iron attack on Fridley student-athlete during basketball game

Four men and one juvenile are charged in connection with an assault on a Fridley basketball player with a tire iron during a high school basketball game on Tuesday.

Dursa Muktar Mohamed, 18; Ayub Mohamed Ali, 19; Yahya Abdul Khanyare, 18; Mubashir Nasir Ali, 18; and a 16-year-old juvenile were all charged with one count each of second-degree assault and second-degree riot. Mohamed was additionally charged with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle.

None of the suspects were Cooper High School students or affiliated with Robbinsdale Area Schools.

All five suspects were arrested Tuesday following the attack at Cooper High School on a player from Fridley sitting on the bench.

According to the criminal complaints, a group of five to six males arrived at Cooper High School in New Hope carrying a tire iron and a knife.

Surveillance video shows the group of men talking in the hallway outside of the gym before making their way to the game and walking straight toward the bench where the victim sat.

The complaint states that as the men approached the victim, Khanyare started to run at him before hitting him on the head with the metal tire iron.

Law enforcement says the victim was “totally unaware” the attack was about to happen.

The other suspects joined Khanyare in the attack by trying to hit the victim with their fists and other weapons, according to the complaint. The surveillance video shows Ali appeared to act as a lookout during the attack before fleeing with the other suspects.

The suspects left the scene in the vehicle they arrived in. A short time later, officers tried to pull the vehicle over, but it fled from law enforcement.

The vehicle then crashed as it tried to enter an on-ramp to a nearby freeway, and all five suspects were arrested, the complaint states.

Officials say the victim needed six staples to close the cut on his head. The extent of the victim’s injuries are not clear.

Mohamed, Ali and Khanyare are all due in court Friday at 1:30 p.m. for a first appearance.