Court records trace the Apple Valley case from a search for a sister to gunfire, emergency surgery and a negotiated conviction.
APPLE VALLEY, Minn. — More than a year after gunfire tore through a confrontation at Kelley Park, Ibrahim Ali Mohamed has admitted to first-degree assault in a case that left an 18-year-old with life-threatening wounds and drew an armed police investigation across the Twin Cities area.
The case unfolded in several stages: Mohamed’s effort to locate his sister, an argument among groups at the park, an alleged threat that brought the eventual victim back, a burst of about 10 shots, an investigation that challenged Mohamed’s account and an arrest more than seven weeks later. Mohamed, now 21, pleaded guilty July 6. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss an attempted second-degree murder charge, and the parties proposed a sentence of 86 to 129 months. His final sentence is scheduled to be imposed Oct. 7 in Dakota County District Court.
The sequence began before the shooting on May 10, 2025, when Mohamed’s mother was unable to contact his sister, according to court documents described by local news organizations. Mohamed was able to follow location information through a cellphone and determined that his sister was at Kelley Park. He traveled there with two friends. The public filings do not describe an emergency involving the sister or say that she had requested help. They instead show that the effort to find her placed Mohamed and his companions in contact with another group gathered in the park.
An argument followed. Witnesses told investigators that Mohamed drew a handgun from his hoodie as the dispute intensified. A friend of his sister tried to stop him from pulling out the weapon, according to prosecutors’ account. Mohamed then began striking people with the gun and pointing it at others, the complaint said. People moved away as he allegedly chased members of the group. By then, the situation had shifted from a verbal disagreement into a public emergency involving an armed person in a park where several people were present.
Calls began reaching law enforcement. Some callers described a man armed with a handgun and chasing people. Witnesses reported a white hoodie and a black ski mask. The descriptions helped officers understand what was happening, but they did not immediately end the confrontation. The available reports vary in how they refer to the time of the incident, with one account placing the shooting around 12:40 a.m. and another describing police activity later in the day. The charging reports consistently identify May 10 and Kelley Park as the date and location.
At some point, the 18-year-old who would be wounded was no longer in the immediate area. The complaint said he then received a warning that a friend would be killed unless he returned. The message or call included the words, “If you don’t come back, I’m going to kill your friend.” The reviewed material does not make clear who delivered the warning or whether investigators attributed the words directly to Mohamed. It does establish that prosecutors relied on the threat to explain why the young man drove back toward a scene where witnesses said someone was armed.
People in the park recognized the danger as the vehicle approached. One person reportedly warned the driver to get out because “they’re going to shoot.” A woman also shouted that someone was going to shoot him, according to the complaint. Those warnings came moments before the gunfire. Prosecutors alleged that Mohamed approached or fired toward the arriving vehicle and struck the 18-year-old in the face from about 100 feet away. Investigators later said approximately 10 rounds had been discharged during the episode.
The wounded man was taken for emergency care. Reports based on court records said he suffered severe trauma to his face and neck, injuries to his chest, damage to his tongue and fractures affecting his jaw and teeth. Doctors performed emergency surgery because the injuries threatened his life. A later report said he was expected to survive. His name was not published in the sources reviewed for this article, and there has been no detailed public account of his rehabilitation or long-term condition. The restraint preserves the privacy of a young victim whose medical recovery remains largely outside the public record.
Police then had to determine whose account of the gunfire was supported by evidence. Mohamed acknowledged being in the park and firing at a vehicle, according to the complaint. He said the car came into the park at high speed and that he believed occupants were shooting at him. He also said he did not know who was inside. Investigators searched for signs of return fire but reported finding no evidence that anyone in the victim’s car had discharged a weapon. The state’s charging theory placed Mohamed as the only confirmed shooter.
The investigation expanded beyond spent ammunition and witness interviews. Search warrants were used to examine Mohamed’s phone and social media accounts, according to a detailed local report based on the court filings. Investigators found videos that allegedly showed Mohamed and others displaying guns. They believed a Polymer80-style 9 mm handgun in the material was connected to the shooting. Authorities also cited a message allegedly sent after the incident in which Mohamed appeared to expect that he would be jailed and accused girls of informing police.
Despite the witness accounts and digital evidence, Mohamed was not taken into custody immediately. The Dakota County Attorney’s Office filed charges that included attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault. A nationwide warrant was issued. Apple Valley officers arrested Mohamed in Minneapolis shortly after 1 p.m. on June 30, 2025, according to the court-based reporting. The gap between the shooting and arrest lasted more than seven weeks, during which investigators assembled the complaint and sought judicial approval for the arrest.
At his first court appearance, Mohamed faced a high bail amount. A judge set bail at $400,000 without conditions or $150,000 with conditions, local reporting said. The attempted murder charge alleged that he intended to kill but had not planned the act in advance. The assault charge focused on the great bodily harm inflicted on the victim. Both counts arose from the same shooting, but each required the state to prove different elements. Had the case gone to trial, jurors would have been asked to evaluate Mohamed’s intent as well as his responsibility for the injuries.
The July 2026 plea removed that trial from the court calendar. Mohamed admitted first-degree assault causing great bodily harm, while prosecutors agreed that the attempted murder count would be dismissed under the settlement. The proposed sentencing window begins at seven years and two months and extends to 10 years and nine months. The agreement gives the judge room to select a term within that span, but it prevents either party from seeking a result outside the negotiated range if the agreement is accepted without modification.
The chronology leaves several matters outside public view. The records cited in news reports do not identify the person who issued the threat that caused the victim to return. They do not fully explain the original argument between the groups or disclose whether everyone present agreed about how it began. The victim’s current health status is also not known. Those gaps do not undo the guilty plea, but they limit how completely the public record can explain the relationships and decisions that turned a family search into a serious felony case.
The next confirmed step is sentencing Oct. 7. The court may hear from prosecutors, the defense, Mohamed and people affected by the shooting before selecting a prison term. Until that hearing is completed, the exact sentence and any related financial or supervisory conditions remain unresolved.
Author note: Last updated Aug. 2, 2026.