A Brooklyn Park woman stalked a 76-year-old woman into her Minneapolis apartment building last week, where she shot and pistol-whipped the victim, robbing her of $900 in rent money she'd just withdrawn from the bank, charges say.
Da'Seanna D. Williams, 21, was charged in Hennepin County District Court on Thursday with aggravated robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon, both felonies, in connection with the violent attack that left the Somali-American elder with a fractured skull and brain bleed. Williams remains jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail.
According to the criminal complaint:
Minneapolis police were called to the 1700 block of E. 22nd Street around 12:15 p.m. on Jan. 2 on a report of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers found the victim bleeding from a wound to her head and hip. She was transported to the Hennepin County Medical Center, where she was treated for multiple brain hemorrhages and bone fractures.
Her adult son told investigators that the woman had left the apartment they share earlier that morning to withdraw cash at the bank for rent. After she returned on the bus, he heard a gunshot right outside their door and found her critically injured.
The victim later told police that an unknown woman had followed her into the apartment complex and the elevator. As the older woman exited and walked toward her door, Williams pulled out a black handgun and shot her in the hip, charges say. Williams also struck her in the head with the firearm so forcefully that a piece of metal broke off and was later found at the scene. Then, she fled the complex with the victim's purse.
Surveillance video helped police identify Williams as the suspect. Four days later, officers arrested her at her apartment after she attempted to escape through a window, charges say. Detectives found a loaded black semiautomatic handgun with a missing trigger guard — that appeared to have been broken off — under a mattress. They also reported finding cocaine.
During a police interview, Williams admitted to the attack. She is wanted in connection with two other recent robberies, charges say.
No attorney was listed for her in court records.
Liz Sawyer • 612-673-4648
