Two suspects charged in the shooting at the Mall of American last week were arrested in Chicago Thursday afternoon after evading authorities for a week.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — A week after shots were fired inside the Mall of America, Bloomington Police Department officials announced the arrests of two suspects, the alleged gunman and an alleged accomplice.
Authorities announced at a press conference Thursday afternoon that around 2:15 pm, 21-year-old Shamar Lark, believed to be the shooter, and an additional alleged accomplice, 23-year-old Rashad May, were arrested in Chicago after a nationwide warrant was issued for their arrests.
Bloomington Police Chief Dr. Booker Hodges, who identified the men in a press conference Monday, said they were coming out of a barbershop when they were arrested.
Hodges said Lark and May were taken into custody without incident in Chicago’s Cook County Jail, where they’ll wait to be extradited back to Minnesota.
“You can’t commit these acts and think you’re going to enjoy the freedoms of a free society,” Hodges said, adding, “It is my hope that Mr. Lark and Mr. May get the help they need to turn their life around after they’re held accountable for their actions.”
According to court documents, Lark is charged with a second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, intentional discharge of a firearm and carrying a pistol without a permit in a public place. May is charged with aiding an offender to avoid arrest.
Three additional suspects, who are also charged with aiding an offender to avoid arrest, made their first court appearances Tuesday. Referee Lionel Norris set bail with conditions for Delyanie Arnold at $40,000, and for cousins Selena Raghubir and Denesh Raghubir at $10,000.
On Thursday, Aug. 4, police said two groups were involved in an argument inside the Nike store at Mall of America around 4:15 pm One of those groups included Lark and May, police said. After briefly leaving the store, police said Lark and May returned to the store and Lark opened fire at the other group of men involved in the initial fight, according to the criminal complaint.
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No injuries were reported from the shooting, but the incident prompted Mall of America to go into a lockdown and close early for the day.
Bloomington Police said Lark and May were seen on surveillance video running out of the mall and into the IKEA parking lot across the street, and the complaint says, investigators learned they were picked up by a Best Western shuttle and taken to the nearby hotel location just south of the mall
Cell phone records revealed May contacted 23-year-old Delyanie Arnold multiple times immediately after the shooting, and asked him to help them escape from the scene, police said.
Chief Hodges explained at a press conference Monday that Arnold then contacted his girlfriend, 23-year-old Selena Raghubir, who was the assistant general manager at the Best Western. Officials said Selena then sent her cousin, 21-year-old Denesh Raghubir, who worked at the hotel, to drive the hotel shuttle to the IKEA parking lot and picked up Lark and May, the criminal complaint states.
The pair were driven back to the Best Western, at which point Selena drove them to her and Arnold’s residence in Bloomington, police said.
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When officers arrived at the Best Western, police said Denesh Raghubir told them the alleged shooters were still inside the hotel, which police said was misinformation that impacted the investigation.
Court records say police executed a search warrant at Arnold and Selena Raghubir’s residence Aug. 5 where they located shirts worn by Lark and May, which were visible on surveillance camera, inside Selena Raghubir’s vehicle.