Hamza Said charged in Wayzata H.S. graduation shooting

Hamza Abdirashid Said, age 20, was charged with three felonies arising from the Friday night shooting outside of the Wayzata High School graduation ceremony held at the University of Minnesota’s men’s hockey arena on the Minneapolis campus.

Said is being held in county jail in lieu of $300,000 bail/bond. He is due in court tomorrow.

Wayzata H.S. is ranked as being one of the top ten high schools in the state, according to U.S. News.

There were two shooting victims that night, both unnamed. A 49-year-old man (Victim 1) was shot in the head. By all accounts he was a bystander, at the event with his family celebrating someone’s graduation that evening.

There was a second victim, male, age 19, (Victim 2) shot through the leg. Both victims, miraculously, have been released from the hospital. The report notes that Victim 2 did not cooperate with police.

According to the police report, Said was arrested not far from the scene outside of the arena.

Before the shooting, Victim 1 reports seeing a group of young males fighting/arguing outside of the arena. From the report it appears that Victim 2 was the first to be shot, the Victims were apparently numbered in the order discovered by responding police.

The report notes that the defendant was dressed “in a black gown,” not a graduation robe, but an item “consistent with traditional Somali garment,” according to police.

Said, billed out of Coon Rapids, is accused of carrying a 9mm Glock 17, modified with a “switch” to achieve rapid fire (Count 3).

At present, it has not been determined whether the defendant had been inside the arena, or that a prior relationship existed between the defendant and Victim 2.

Said’s name and booking photo were widely distributed on social media, beginning just hours after the incident. Neither law enforcement nor local media published that information until formal charges were entered this morning.