Minneapolis mass shooting charges: Gang member was 'close family friend' of victims he killed
Charges filed against the man accused in a Minneapolis mass shooting that left four people dead and one critically wounded state that the suspect was a friend of all the victims, and that he shot them all while sat in the same vehicle as them.
Charges allege that James Ortley, 34, of Minneapolis, who goes by the street names "Baby James," "Baby J," "Little James," and "Little J," is a member of criminal street gang the Native Mob, which operates in south Minneapolis and other areas of Minnesota.
He has been charged with multiple counts of 2nd-degree murder following the shooting in an alleyway at 15th Avenue South and 25th Street East just before midnight Tuesday. The criminal complaint against Ortley says two men and a woman died at the scene after being shot in the head. Another man and woman were critically wounded, with Minneapolis police confirming the 28-year-old man died at Hennepin County Medical Center on Thursday.
One of the victims, referred to as "Victim 5," told police before being taken to HCMC that "Little James" was sitting in the rear-passenger seat when "he shot everyone inside the vehicle." Ortley, who was wearing all black clothing, then allegedly fled the scene on foot.
Two family members of one of the victims told police that all five victims were together at a family friend's home in south Minneapolis earlier in the evening but left at 9:30 p.m., with one of the victims saying they were going to pick up "Baby J," who was "known to be a close family friend to the victims."
Hennepin County Jail
Police were able to interviewed Victim 5 again on Wednesday morning, and they confirmed there was a single shooter and that the shooter was "Little James." The victim positively identified Ortley as the shooter when shown a picture by police.
U.S. Marshals and an FBI SWAT team U.S. Marshals arrested Ortley at a property in the 1600 block of South 4th Street Thursday.
Ortley had come to the attention of police in a separate homicide investigation dating back to October 2023, during which he was interviewed by officers and admitted his street name was "Baby James."
The criminal complaint does not specify a motive for Ortley, but Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara has said this week he believes the shooting was "targeted" and may be gang-related.
The mass shooting sparked a possible retaliatory shooting three blocks away on the 2100 block of Cedar Avenue South on Wednesday afternoon, which left a man dead. Another fatal shooting was reported on Wednesday evening at Lake Street and 15th Avenue South, but police don't believe it's connected.
While the victims have not all been officially identified, police have said they are members of the Native community. Two have been named by FOX 9 as identical twin sisters Maleice and Merelle White, with Merelle killed and Maleice the sole surviving victim still hospitalized.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
30 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
GirlsDoPorn boss, once one of FBI's 10 most wanted, pleads guilty to sex trafficking
After three years on the run and a stint on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, the leader of GirlsDoPorn, Michael Pratt, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking charges in San Diego on Thursday, authorities said. Pratt used force, fraud and coercion to recruit hundreds of women, many of whom were in their late teens, to perform sex acts on camera, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The women were often lured under the pretense of modeling gigs and were later told they would be filming adult videos, which Pratt and his business partners falsely promised would not appear online, prosecutors said. If the women refused to finish filming, Pratt would threaten to sue them, cancel flights home and post the videos publicly. The videos would then be uploaded to where Pratt made more than $17 million in profits from 2012 to 2019, prosecutors said. The consequences for the young victims were devastating. In court hearings, victims detailed how they had lost jobs, been evicted, dropped out of school or been disowned by friends and family. Some attempted suicide. In court, Pratt admitted to coming up with the idea for GirlsDoPorn, recruiting women to appear in the videos, sometimes transporting them to and from the site of a video shoot and sometimes manning the camera, prosecutors said. He faces a potential life sentence and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 25. He was initially indicted in October 2019 alongside his business partners. But before Pratt could answer for his crimes, he disappeared. For years, while his business partners entered guilty pleas and victims testified in court, Pratt was nowhere to be found. The FBI placed him on its top 10 list and offered a $100,000 reward in return for information leading to his arrest. Authorities finally nabbed the elusive sex trafficking ringleader in Spain in December 2022, where he was held in custody until his extradition to San Diego in 2024, according to the Department of Justice. Pratt's former business partners Ruben Andre Garcia, Matthew Wolfe and Theodore Gyi have already been convicted and are serving sentences of 20, 14 and four years, respectively. Valorie Moser, the former GirlsDoPorn bookkeeper, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and is scheduled to be sentenced in September, prosecutors said. The charges against the sixth person in the indictment — a woman who was accused of helping recruit women to film the adult movies — were dropped in 2021, according to reporting from the San Diego Union-Tribune. Pratt directed Garcia, a male adult-film performer, to recruit 'reference girls' to falsely convince young women that the videos they were filming would not appear online and that their friends and family would never see them, prosecutors said. The reference girls were paid per model they tried to recruit. At least one of the models was underage. 'I can remember being so worried to tell him [Garcia] that I was just 17,' a woman told the court during a hearing for Garcia. 'But he was not mad or concerned. Instead he was excited and was eager to start.' The women were often flown to San Diego from out of state to participate in the adult films. Pratt and his business partners would attempt to hide their connection to GirlsDoPorn from the models, having them sign contracts with innocuous-sounding business names such as 'Begin Modeling,' 'Bubblegum Casting' or 'BLL Media,' prosecutors said. Pratt pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to sex-traffic from 2012 to 2019 and one count of sex trafficking a victim in May 2012, prosecutors said. Times staff writer Sonja Sharp contributed to this report.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Chinese agroterrorism suspect and U-M researcher has detention hearing postponed
FOX 2 - A University of Michigan researcher remains in federal custody tonight, accused of helping smuggle a dangerous crop-destroying fungus into the U.S. Yunqing Jian appeared in federal court in Detroit Thursday, her detention hearing postponed to June 13 so she can hire a private attorney. The 33-year-old and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, allegedly worked together to bring a fungus that damages wheat and other grains into the country. Officials call it a potential agroterrorism threat. "Agroterrorism, bioterrorism, is thankfully so rare, but, you know, requires constant vigilance to ensure that it stays rare," said Michael Singh, National Security Council. According to the complaint, customs officials found the fungus stashed in the boyfriend's backpack as he was traveling through Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Liu told officials he wanted to conduct research on it at the University of Michigan, where his girlfriend worked. A deeper search revealed a document titled "2018 Plant-Pathogen Warfare Under Changing Climate Conditions" on the man's cellphone. Customs officers denied him entry and sent him back to China. A later search of his girlfriend's phone uncovered a form describing her membership in the Chinese Communist Party. That prompted the FBI's involvement. Director Kash Patel told FOX News, in part, "Smuggling a known agroterrorism agent into the U.S. is not just a violation of law, it's a direct threat to national security." Meanwhile, some experts say it's still too early to call this a threat. "Yes, this is a plant pathogen, but it's also one that is distributed globally," said Martin Chilvers, Michigan State University professor. "The problem is that it could be a little bit different to what we already have here, and that's why it should have been brought in under regulated permits." For now, Jian remains in custody at Sanilac County Jail. She has been charged with conspiracy, smuggling, and making false statements. In a statement, the University of Michigan says it is cooperating with law enforcement and says it has not received any funding from China's government in relation to these individuals.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Colorado attack suspect to appear in federal court Friday as he faces nearly 120 state charges
The Egyptian man accused of carrying out an antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado, is set to appear in federal court on Friday – a day after he was charged with 28 counts of attempted murder in connection to a firebombing that has sparked widespread fear across the Jewish community. Mohamed Soliman, 45, allegedly used a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to set people on fire during a downtown event held in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza. The attack occurred on the eve of Shavuot, a Jewish holiday, and less than two weeks after a separate antisemitic attack in Washington, DC, where two Israeli Embassy staff members were shot dead. In a Public Service Announcement Thursday, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security highlighted 'potential public safety concerns related to ongoing threats to Jewish and Israeli communities.' Soliman faces a federal hate crime charge in connection with the Boulder attack, an affidavit shows. He faces life in prison if convicted of the federal charge, acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado J. Bishop Grewell said Monday. On Thursday, Soliman appeared in court from a room in the Boulder County Jail before Colorado District Judge Nancy Salomone to face state charges. Wearing an orange zip-up jacket, Soliman nodded in response to the judge's questions. He faces 118 counts, including 28 counts of first-degree attempted murder, according to court documents filed in the Boulder District Court. Soliman also faces counts of felony assault, incendiary device charges, along with one count of animal cruelty, the document shows. CNN has reached out to his attorney for comment. A total of 62 of those counts relate to the victims. If convicted, Soliman could face up to 48 years in prison for each victim, said Michael Dougherty, the district attorney for Colorado's 20th Judicial District. The attack injured at least 15 people – including a Holocaust survivor – as well as a dog. The victims included eight women and seven men between the ages of 25 and 88, according to the FBI, with several suffering severe burns. Three victims remained hospitalized as of Thursday, Dougherty said. He is due in court for a preliminary hearing on his state charges on July 15. During the attack, Soliman reportedly yelled 'Free Palestine,' according to the FBI and later told authorities that 'he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,' an affidavit said. Authorities are investigating whether Soliman has any underlying mental health issues, a source familiar with the investigation previously told CNN. Investigators are also examining a notebook left behind by Soliman, which includes a manifesto written in English with some lines in Arabic, according to a law enforcement source. Police recovered the notebook after Soliman directed them to its location. Investigators are also reviewing videos Soliman recorded on his phone, featuring him speaking in both English and Arabic, the source said. One such video, which has surfaced on social media, appears to show Soliman speaking in Arabic while driving. CNN has not independently confirmed the video's authenticity. The attack is one of multiple recent incidents that has increased fear among the Jewish community in the US. 'The ongoing Israel-HAMAS conflict may motivate other violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators with similar grievances to conduct violence against Jewish and Israeli communities and their supporters,' the FBI and DHS warned in their public service announcement. 'Foreign terrorist organizations also may try to exploit narratives related to the conflict to inspire attacks in the United States,' the announcement said. The agencies urged the public to remain vigilant and report any threats of violence or suspicious activity to law enforcement. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett and interfaith leaders gathered Wednesday to denounce the attack and call for unity, according to a news release. 'Violence in any form has no place in Colorado, and we know that to move forward we must join together in our common humanity to ensure peace in our communities, take care of one another, and emerge stronger,' Polis said in a statement. CNN's Danya Gainor, Cindy Von Quednow, Evan Perez, Alisha Ebrahimji and Jeremy Harlan contributed to this report.
