07-05-2025
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.
