Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
“Too Much Video” is an episode of See No Evil on ID that will be aired on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET. It will revolve around the 2010 Minneapolis shooting at Seward Market that ended in a triple homicide that Mahdi Hassan Ali, a teenager at the time, was convicted of.
On January 6, 2010, two masked men entered the Seward Market in Minneapolis. One of the men held a semiautomatic gun. He ended up shooting three people, including employees and customers, causing a triple homicide. The masked shooter was identified as Mahdi Hassan Ali. He was convicted of one count of premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree felony murder on September 23, 2011.
According to court documents, Mahdi Hassan Ali and another teenager, later identified as Ahmed Shire Ali, entered the Seward Market on Franklin Avenue at 7:44 p.m. on January 6, 2010. Mahdi held a gun and threatened an employee, Osman Elmi, who was behind the counter at the time with his relative, Mohamed Warfa. They put Warfa to the ground and demanded money. Both Warfa and Elmi called out to the customers in the store to contact the police.
At the time, two customers were in the store. The masked men immediately rushed to them, asking for their cell phones. Anwar Mohammed, another customer, entered the store. Mahdi Hassan Ali immediately shot him twice. One of the shots was to his head that killed him. The men then reportedly panicked and fled the place before Mahdi returned to shoot Warfa at least twice. He subsequently chased Osman Elmi around the store and shot him thrice in the back, which eventually killed him.
How many years in prison was Mahdi Hassan Ali sentenced to?
CBS News reported that Mahdi Hassan Ali’s age was found to be 17 at the time of the crime. However, he was born in Somalia and had no birth certificate. His attorney argued that he was only 15 at the time of the shooting. The Supreme Court of Minnesota upheld a previous district court decision that ordered the accused to be tried as an adult. Mahdi Hassan Ali was then sentenced to three consecutive life sentences with no possibility for parole on October 31, 2011.
Both Mahdi Hassan Ali and Ahmed Shire Ali were arrested within 48 hours of the shooting after the police found surveillance footage of the crime. The victims included 30-year-old Mohamed Warfa, 28-year-old Osman Elmi, and 31-year-old Anwar Mohammed. Ahmed Ali told the police that they had only planned to rob the store. However, Mahdi unexpectedly shot Anwar Mohammed and then shot the others, fearing that he would be recognized, Fox 9 reported.
Surveillance footage played a major role in the arrest and conviction of Mahdi Hassan Ali and Ahmed Shire Ali. The police reportedly used the footage from a SuperAmerica gas station, the city impound lot, the crime scene, etc., to reconstruct the timeline of activities of the two accused on the day of the shooting and subsequent triple homicide. All the victims died minutes after the shooting.
The See No Evil episode “Too Much Video” will air on ID on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET.
