A Minneapolis man was charged with murder and two other crimes in the shooting death of a man in front of Cup Foods, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
Shantaello Christianson, 31, was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree riot causing death and prohibited person in possession of a firearm in the death of 30-year-old Imaz Wright of Minneapolis. Christianson is expected to make his first court appearance on Tuesday.
According to the complaint, in the early evening of March 6, Wright was standing in front of Cup Foods at what is now known as “George Floyd Square,” 38th Street and Chicago Avenue South, when Christianson drove up in a tan Sport Utility Vehicle. Also with Christianson was his wife and his wife’s cousin.
Christianson and Wright are both members of the Rolling 30’s Bloods gang but were on opposite sides of an internal gang dispute, the complaint states. The other man got out of the SUV’s passenger seat and started arguing with Wright. Then Christianson stepped out of the vehicle and shot Wright multiple times before driving off. Several other people fired at the SUV as the trio fled.
Surveillance video confirmed the accounts of witnesses. The SUV was registered to Christianson’s wife and days later police found it in the parking lot of a Brooklyn Center hotel, according to the complaint. As they watched, Christianson and his wife walked out of the hotel and Christianson was carrying a duffle bag. Inside the bag was a 9 mm Glock handgun and inside the SUV was a semi-automatic rifle. Christianson admitted the guns were his.
In 2007, Christianson was convicted of aggravated robbery, in 2009 he was convicted of fifth-degree drug possession and in 2013 he was convicted of second-degree riot, all crimes which made it illegal for him to posses guns or ammunition, the complaint states.
