Man shot into car, killing mother and shooting toddler in the face, court docs say

A man has been charged with killing 35-year-old Lilian Magali Poalacin Perez and injuring her toddler son in May.

Ayale Abdullahi Ali, 20, faces one count of second-degree murder and four counts of attempted second-degree murder.

Ali was charged via a warrant and is not in custody.

As previously reported, Minneapolis officers responded to a shooting in an alley on the 2900 block of 18th Avenue South on May 19.

Perez had been shot while in the backseat of a vehicle. She was holding her 2-year-old son, who had been shot twice in the face. Perez died from her injuries but her son survived.

Two other children were also in the back seat but were not injured.

According to a criminal complaint, surveillance video showed the victims’ vehicle parked behind a home in the alley and Perez’s husband got out of the car. Investigators later learned he went to the home to borrow tools from his brother.

While Perez’s husband was out of the car, another car pulled up behind it.

A man, later identified as Ali, is seen getting out of the second vehicle and walking up to the victims’ car, holding a gun, court documents state. Ali then fired multiple shots into the car.

Perez’s husband then came back and saw that his wife and child had been shot and started screaming. Court documents state Ali was seen on surveillance video shooting at Perez’s husband as well, but missed.

Seven 9mm discharged cartridge casings were recovered from the scene.

According to court documents, several witnesses said Ali could have been the shooter.

On his social media accounts, investigators found several pictures of him holding guns, and messages of him trying to trade guns a day after the murder. His phone was at the scene of the murder when it occurred, court documents state.

At least two witnesses identified Ali as the shooter in a photo lineup, according to court documents.

A selfie of Ali a few hours before the shooting shows him wearing the same shoes as the shooter in the surveillance footage.

Court documents note that Ali faces charges related to a home invasion and attempted murder in Iowa. He is also on probation in Scott County for aggravated robbery.

Investigators found messages from Ali bragging about fleeing to Somalia after some of the charges.