MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Two Minneapolis men are in custody accused of luring and shooting at a vehicle containing a woman and four small children, one of whom was seriously injured in the eye, according to Minneapolis Police.
On Sunday at 11:35 a.m., Minneapolis Police responded to the Hennepin County Medical Center on the report of a personal vehicle on the way to the hospital with a seriously injured person inside.
Upon arrival, officers encountered the vehicle with “obvious damage” to its windshield and the side window smashed out.
After securing the three children still inside the vehicle, police found the driver and a girl who suffered serious injuries inside the hospital.
According to the criminal complaint, a man identified as 21-year-old Diontre Ramone Hill called the woman earlier and asked her to meet him in an alley near 4232 Irving Avenue North, saying it was an emergency and that he was locked out of his house.
When the woman arrived, she told him to hurry up because she had to drive to basketball, but Hill appeared to be stalling. He then asked her if she damaged a car belonging to a female acquaintance of his.
After she denied damaging the other car, Hill made a call. That’s when a man known to the victim as 20-year-old Myles Ray Estes appeared and started running toward her car. Estes accused her of damaging the car, picked up a brick and began breaking windows of her car. Meanwhile, Hill did not intervene and appeared to be smirking, the complaint said.
When she began to drive away, she saw Estes running across a lawn with a handgun. As she drove by Estes, he fired at the car multiple times, smashing another window.
“Broad daylight, we were just sitting out here just talking cleaning out the backyard,” said one witness who lives nearby. “I thought it was fireworks. Then, we saw the black car go, like speed, down the street and then we saw another person run around the corner.”
During the shooting, one of the children began screaming that she could not see.
“The glass broke and injured one of the girls, the 8-year-old girl, by lodging shards of glass into her eye,” Minneapolis Police spokesman John Elder said. “The glass broke and injured one of the girls the eight year old girl by lodging shards of glass into her eye.”
The child was later found to have a very serious injury due to glass shards lodged in her eye and may have also received a glancing bullet wound to her head. Doctors say she may lose her eye.
Police went back to the area of the shooting and arrested Hill and Estes. Officers found a handgun and ammunition after executing a search warrant.
Hill and Estes each face one felony count of first-degree assault.
“Both are charged with first degree assault which is the highest level of assault before you start getting into manslaughter attempted murder and murder,” Elder said.
If convicted of their charges, both men could face up to 20 years in prison and/or a $30,000 fine.
The little girl who was shot turned 9 years old Wednesday. She has had two surgeries since Sunday and right now is in intensive care surrounded by family. They are asking for privacy, prayers and hope her sight will be saved.
A fund has been set up to help the family. If you want to help, you can donate at any US Bank. Donations are accepted in the victim’s name: Anaia Callender.
