Son of former Minnesota lawmaker arrested in crash that killed 5 young women
Derrick Thompson was booked into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of murder.
Officials have released the name of the man they arrested in connection with the death of four young women and one teenage girl Friday night in South Minneapolis.
Derrick John Thompson, 27, of Brooklyn Park, was arrested and booked into the Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of murder Monday, according to a Minneapolis police spokesman.
He is the son of former state Rep. John Thompson, DFL-St. Paul.
According to court records, Derrick Thompson has a string of convictions in Minnesota including fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, driving after his license was suspended, drug possession, weapons possession without a permit and giving a false name to law enforcement.
According to KSTP-TV, court records also show that Thompson has a felony conviction from a 2018 hit-and-run that injured a woman in Montecito, Calif., near Santa Barbara.
John Thompson, a first-term lawmaker representing the East Side, was defeated in the DFL primary last August in the wake of a number of controversies, which included questions about his official residence following a July 2021 traffic stop in St. Paul. In April 2022, then-St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell accused Thompson of abusing his official position after he allegedly tried to bully officers during a traffic stop involving his daughter.
John Thompson could not be reached for comment Monday.
Also Monday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara released a statement saying the police department is investigating after learning a Minneapolis city official released the name of the suspect to the media, and that Metro Transit surveillance video of the crash had been leaked.
“Both are very concerning,” he said, noting an internal review will be done to determine the source.
He called the crash “senseless and incredibly tragic” and said he personally responded to the “horrific scene.”
“Our hearts break for the families and loved ones of these innocent, young victims who had their entire lives ahead of them. While the MPD has made an arrest in this case, our investigation continues relentlessly, so that we can ensure the strongest possible evidence is provided to prosecute this offender for his crimes to the fullest extent of the law. And the MPD will remain committed to providing support to the victims’ families throughout this process.”
As of Monday afternoon, more than $380,000 had been raised to support the families of the five friends who were killed. They were identified by the Hennepin County medical examiner’s office as:
- Sabiriin Mohamoud Ali, 17, Bloomington
- Siham Adan Odhowa, 19, Minneapolis
- Sagal Burhaan Hersi, 19, Minneapolis
- Sahra Liban Gesaade, 20, Brooklyn Center
- Salma Mohamed Abdikadir, 20, St. Louis Park
After a Monday prayer service at Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, the five, who were returning from a night of a friend’s wedding preparations at the time of the crash, were buried at Garden of Eden Cemetery in Burnsville.
Authorities say the crash occurred about 10:12 p.m. Friday after a speeding SUV on Interstate 35W near 46th Street in Minneapolis raced past a State Patrol trooper. Before the trooper could pull the vehicle over, it had exited and plowed into a car at Lake Street and Second Avenue.
The speeding driver fled the scene of the crash. Authorities said that during a search of the area, they arrested Thompson. He was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center for a medical evaluation before being booked into jail on Monday.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Monday afternoon that the suspect will be charged soon and lambasted the unauthorized release of a “graphic video” that was leaked to the public showing the crash.
“Our community is grieving the loss of the five bright young people whose lives were cut short in a senseless, selfish act of reckless driving. Instead of celebrating a joyous wedding, these families were forced to plan funerals and deal with the devastation of this tragedy. As they mourned, these families were further devastated by the shock of seeing the video of the crash that took their loved ones shared widely and without authorization on social media, before they had a chance to view and process it themselves.”
Moriarty said the leaked video is not expected to influence her office’s ability to charge the case.
Moriarty noted that the unauthorized release of the video is the second time in less than a month that a graphic video has been leaked in the early stages of an investigation in Minneapolis.
“Leaks like this deeply impact the family and loved ones of the victims and undermine community trust in the criminal legal system,” she said in a written statement Monday, noting that she’s expressed her concern about the leaks to the city attorney and police chief.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz wrote on Twitter that the deaths were “absolutely heart wrenching.”