ST PAUL, Minn. — Police arrested five people following a funeral service Friday for the 19-year-old man who was killed inside the Mall of America.
St. Paul police officers were outside the service for Johntae Hudson "to provide a safe and secure environment for everyone present," according to a spokesperson for the St. Paul Police Department.
Police say they saw a suspect in a non-fatal shooting at one of the services, and another man who had a gun. The shooting suspect was wanted by investigators for his connection to a shooting on Dec. 14 in St. Paul.
Authorities say they monitored the two men until the service was over. At that point, the two men got into an SUV with five other people and left the cemetery.
Officers then tried to stop the vehicle in the parking lot of a gas station. One man jumped out of the SUV, however, the two men the officers were monitoring during the services remained inside the vehicle.
Police say the vehicle fled the scene, and police began a pursuit. Officers lost sight of the vehicle, but it was later found unoccupied in the area of 11th Avenue Southeast and University Avenue SE in Minneapolis. Law enforcement found most of the occupants nearby, including the man who had the gun at the funeral service. The suspect in the non-fatal shooting was not found, according to police.
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