Another look inside that parked car

Week before last the Minneapolis police recently arrested brothers Abdullah and Majid Alrifahe sitting in a parked car in Minneapolis. Last week the Star Tribune reported briefly on it here. After checking with law enforcement sources, I followed up in “Inside a parked car in Minneapolis.”

The Star Tribune hasn’t returned to the story so far, yet it clearly warrants a closer look. A friend forwarded a copy of the Abdullah Alrifahe’s arrest report (on which the Star Tribune story appeared to have drawn). Here is the narrative:

On May 11, 2017 at about 5:11 p.m., Minneapolis police were flagged down by a citizen in the vicinity of the intersection of 44th and Humboldt Avenues North, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. The citizen, Witness herein, reported the following.

He had walked by a parked car with two men inside who threw food wrappers out the window. When he confronted the men, they at first ignored him; when he paused to get the car license number, the men got out of the car, called Witness a “nigger” and made gestures indicating one or both had a handgun.

Officers tried to calm the situation but the men continued to yell at Witness and resisted officers’ attempts to control the situation. The men were insistent that they needed to be standing near or in the car because a drone was coming to deliver a package to them. Officers began the citizen’s arrest process and, given the obstructive nature of the men and suspicious circumstances, officers placed the men in the squad car. As the men had suggested to Witness that they were armed and officers feared harm to Witness if the men were released, officers began a cursory search of the vehicle.

In the car officers found a hand grenade and a Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun. Both suspects were arrested, including the driver of the car, ABDULLAH NASSIE ALRIFAHE, Defendant herein, who was found to have a suspended driver’s license.

In an inventory search of the car, officers found a loaded AK 47-type assault rifle, another rifle, several assault rifle magazines and large quantities of different ammunition (including shotgun shells), discharged shell casings and BB ammunition. Also found were several cell phones, computers and electronics equipment including drone parts. Bomb Squad personnel called to the scene noted that the variety of the ammunition and large quantity of BBs and electronic devices could be used for bomb-making.

Defendant was found not to have a valid permit to carry a pistol in public and to have been previously convicted of the same offense in December 2016.

KSTP News reporter Matt Belanger took a look at the story late last week in a report that is posted here (video below). Belanger’s report includes an interview with the good citizen who waved down the police.

Abdullah Alrifahe is in custody subject to $200,000 bail; he is scheduled to appear in court next month. We can only hope in the meantime that he doesn’t make bail.

Where is brother Majid? What is the brothers’ immigration status? What were they up to?

To be continued.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses