Man charged with murder in Minneapolis nightclub shootout
A 24-year-old man was charged Wednesday with nine counts of murder and attempted murder in connection with the mass shooting over the weekend outside a downtown Minneapolis nightclub that left two people dead and many others wounded in a brief but furious sidewalk gun battle.
Juwan C. Carroll, of St. Paul, remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail ahead of a court appearance Thursday.
On Monday, the two people fatally shot shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday outside Monarch in the 300 block of N. 1st Avenue were identified as Christopher R. Jones Jr., 24, of Brooklyn Park, and Charlie B. Johnson, 21, of Golden Valley.
Jones died while exchanging gunfire with Carroll on the crowded sidewalk, according to the charges. Johnson was shot in the back while fleeing the chaotic scene that involved at least four shooters, the charges read.
Among the seven others who were wounded, four women and three men, one was last reported to be in critical condition.
The most seriously wounded was a woman shot in the cheek and neck, and had another shot come within an inch of her skull, according to the charges. A man took three shots in the shoulder and buttocks. Another man had a bullet graze under his right eye.
The casualty-laden bloodshed accounted for two of four people slain in the city over the weekend, prompting police to bring in outside help in the effort to quell the violence.
There have been 32 homicides in the city so far this year, following an especially deadly 2020, when 84 people were slain. The 2019 total was 48. As of the weekend, more than 190 people have been wounded or killed in shootings, compared with about 75 at this point in 2020, according to Police Department data.
The call for additional law enforcement also comes in the wake of three children ages 11 and younger who were hit by gunfire in recent weeks, killing one and seriously injuring two. No arrests have been made in any of those cases.
Johnson went out with friends on Friday night to celebrate their graduation the next day from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Johnson and his friends were walking home when they got hit by stray gunfire, his father, Greg Johnson, said Sunday.
According to the criminal complaint:
Video surveillance outside the nightclub showed Carroll shooting at Jones. Police recognized Carroll in the video from previous encounters with law enforcement and know him as associated with the Tre Tres street gang.
Earlier images from the surveillance video showed Carroll "and several companions" on the sidewalk just south of Monarch. Carroll's group then have "verbal exchanges" with a group including Jones.
Someone with Carroll punched Jones in the head, then Carroll opened fire on Jones at close range. Carroll kept firing as Jones ran of the Monarch entrance.
Just before reaching the entrance, Jones turned and returned gunfire toward Carroll.
Carroll kept firing, prompting two other men to shoot back. Carroll kept firing as bystanders were in harm's way. Jones fell to the sidewalk less than 10 seconds after the first shots were fired.
A friend of Johnson's said the two of them had just stepped out of an alley near Monarch and onto the sidewalk, when the gunfire erupted. Johnson fled down the street and was shot in the back, struggled for a bit and then fell to the spot where he died.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
