SHAKOPEE, Minn. (KFGO WCCO) – A suspect is in custody in Wednesday morning’s shooting outside of a Twin Cities Eid al-Adha prayer service, which killed 26-year-old union leader Khalid Ibrahim Abdi.
Shakopee police say the suspect was arrested around 8:35 a.m. Thursday and is being held in Scott County Jail while awaiting criminal charges. Police didn’t release any information on the suspect’s identity.
The shooting occurred outside of Canterbury Park’s Expo Center, where the prayer service was being held. Police say Abdi suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was later pronounced dead at Minneapolis’ Hennepin Healthcare.
Abdi was a field representative for AFSCME Council 5, according to Bart Anderson, the union’s executive director.
“Khalid will be forever remembered for his tenacious organizing spirit, his warm and inviting presence and his unyielding passion and drive to fight for the working-class and all historically marginalized communities,” Andersen said. “Please keep Khalid’s family, friends, neighbors and all of us coworkers in your thoughts. Khalid’s tenacity, heart and joy lives in us forever.”
“This is not just a headline for another story across people’s timelines, this is a family waking up to a reality no family should ever have to,” Suleiman Adan, deputy executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said.
The event was organized by a center that’s part of the Islamic Association of North America. Executive director Iman Yusuf Abdulle tells WCCO many of the service’s attendees had left by the time a physical altercation between Abdi and another person led to gunfire.
“It is a senseless killing and it’s supposed to be a day of happiness, Eid. It’s a major holiday for us as Muslims,” Abdulle said.
Suleiman Aden, deputy executive director for the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says the community demands “accountability.”
“People are paying close attention to the investigation,” Aden said. “Our hearts are with Khaled’s family, his loved ones and everyone carrying the weight of his loss right now.”
Comments