Federal charges suggest tie between recent shootings outside Twin Cities high school grad ceremonies

Two men, Hamza A. Said, 20, and Amiir M. Ali, 18, have been charged in federal court with unlawful possession of machine guns following a shooting that injured two attendees at a Wayzata High School graduation on May 30. The incident occurred outside Mariucci Arena shortly after the ceremony concluded, where a 49-year-old man was shot in the head and a 19-year-old was shot in the leg; both victims are expected to survive. Said faces additional state charges for first- and second-degree assault related to this incident.

Acting U. S. Attorney Joseph Thompson expressed moral outrage at the violence, stating that such actions at graduation ceremonies are unacceptable. During the investigation, police recovered a Glock 9 mm pistol equipped with a high-capacity magazine and a machine gun conversion device from Said. Ali, who was previously arrested for a related incident, was found with a Glock 10 mm semiautomatic gun during a traffic stop.

His case was deferred by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for further investigation due to a lack of forensic evidence. Two other individuals have also been charged in connection with gang-related shootings at high school graduations in the area.