In a night of crime-fighting they said was "straight out of a movie," a Minneapolis couple chased a car that sped away from the scene of a slaying Saturday night and worked with police through the early morning to provide details of their account.
"I was in the moment," the man said Sunday, recalling when he and his girlfriend jumped in their car. "I was like, let's do this."
They called the pursuit off after a few blocks out of fear for their lives but later gave vehicle and suspect descriptions to police officers.
People at the scene Sunday identified the victim as Mohamed Ahmed Hassan, 30.
Hassan's death marks the city's 40th homicide of the year and comes as the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood near the Stone Arch Bridge and Mississippi River grapples with a spate of violence.
The couple returned from dinner just after 10 p.m. Saturday and parked outside her apartment building, which is in the 600 block of SE. Main Street.
After hearing raised voices and two "pops," they decided to get back in the car and chase the shooter's vehicle. When they returned, five or six police cars were at the scene.
Though the woman had her doubts, the man said he thinks he did the right thing.
"I'm glad I did because I think I hold the information we need to find the killer," he said, adding that his end goal is to see justice served.
The couple did not want to be identified for fear of retribution. They said they saw the shooter's face and figure he probably saw them, too. Police know who they're looking for, the man said.
Police spokesman John Elder said no arrests had been made as of Sunday evening. "We do not believe there is a threat to the general public," he said in a statement.
Asked if he thought the public should step in like the couple did, Elder said he doesn't want to see a bad situation get worse.
"We would like people to be good witnesses and not put themselves in a spot of peril or danger," he said.
The department solves more crimes when the public shares what they know, he said.
In recent months, concerned residents of the neighborhood have held listening sessions with police following two sexual assaults and the Oct. 16 fatal stabbing of Abdoulaye Cisse. Cisse, a Minnesota National Guardsman, died in a seemingly random attack on his 27th birthday.
Staff writers Liz Sawyer and Libor Jany contributed to this report.
Erin Adler • 612-673-1781
