The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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September 25, 2008

Woman not shot during commotion

Reported blood was taco sauce

By Dan Nienaber

MANKATO — Someone simply lost control of the condiments.

That’s the conclusion of police who say no one was shot during a ruckus involving a handgun early Sunday morning.

“I think what happened is, after the gunshots were fired, this woman ended up with taco sauce on her,” Mankato Police Cmdr. Matt DuRose said.

Witnesses had reported a woman was shot after Mohamed Ahmed Ali, 23, allegedly shot a gun during a disturbance at the Eastport apartment complex at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Ali, who lives in the complex at the intersection of Pohl Road and Balcerzak Drive, came out of his apartment to confront people who were fighting outside a party at another apartment, according to a criminal complaint.

A stained rag that was found near the apartment complex after the incident did have blood on it, DuRose said Thursday.

But during their investigation Sunday, police were able to determine that stains in a hallway, which one witness thought was blood, was actually taco sauce, DuRose said. They’ve now determined, after interviewing the woman who witnesses said had been shot, that the red on her clothing also was taco sauce.

A broken bottle of taco sauce also was found at the scene Sunday.

“In the grand scheme of things, how the taco sauce got broken is immaterial,” DuRose said.

Ali turned in a gun to police on Wednesday after posting a $30,000 bond for his release from jail. He had been arrested Sunday and charged with second-degree assault and making terroristic threats, both felonies.

A permit to carry a handgun, gun case, and shipping container for a .45-caliber handgun were found in Ali’s apartment during a search Sunday.

Spent gun casings have not been found, DuRose said. Unspent .45-caliber bullets and a magazine for a .45-caliber gun were found in the area where witnesses reported shots had been fired by Ali.

Second-degree assault charges are typically requested for incidents involving threats and a deadly weapon, such as a gun or a knife, DuRose said.

Investigators already have interviewed about 30 witnesses and plan to interview more, DuRose said. Officers interviewed people who were at the scene Sunday morning, but learned many people had fled after hearing gunshots or others saying shots had been fired.

“Those are the people we’re interviewing now,” he said. “It seems like every one person we talk to, they give us two more people to talk to.”

There could be more charges filed for the apparent fight that was taking place before Ali came out of his apartment. Witnesses told police the fight started after a group of about 10 people arrived at a birthday party without being invited.

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