A Dakota County judge sentenced Ibrahim Ali Mohamed to more than 10 years in prison Thursday for shooting an 18-year-old man in the face at Kelley Park in Apple Valley, handing down a punishment that exceeded state sentencing guidelines. Mohamed, now 21, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in July 2026 in connection with the May 10, 2025, shooting, which left the victim with life-threatening injuries to his face, neck and chest.
Judge Ryan Bies imposed the maximum sentence available and ruled that Mohamed's conduct was more onerous than that of a typical offender committing the same offense, according to the seed facts in reporting from Pioneer Press. The plea deal had called for a sentence between 86 and 129 months, or roughly 7 to 10.75 years, as noted by KSTP. Mohamed was given 113 days of credit for time already served. As part of the agreement, a second-degree attempted murder charge against him was dismissed.
A Chaotic Night at Kelley Park
Apple Valley police were dispatched to Kelley Park shortly after midnight on a report of suspicious activity. Multiple 911 callers reported shots fired, with one caller describing a man in a black ski mask with a gun tucked in his waistband, and another reporting that someone had been shot.
Mohamed told investigators he had gone to the park a few hours before the shooting to look for his sister, then got into an argument there. He pulled a gun from under his sweatshirt, struck people with it after someone tried to grab it away, and pointed the weapon at others before firing. He admitted to wearing a ski mask and shooting at a car in the park, according to Yahoo News. He said he fired about 10 rounds from what he described as a peanut butter-colored P80 handgun, and said he did not know the passengers inside the car he fired at.
The 18-year-old victim had returned to the park after getting a call warning that his friend would be killed if he didn't come back. As he approached, someone at the park yelled, “Get out, they're going to shoot.” The victim spotted Mohamed about 100 feet from his car just before the shooting began, and Mohamed fled the scene afterward, leaving the teen to undergo emergency surgery for his injuries.
Conflicting Accounts and a Dismissed Charge
Mohamed claimed people inside the vehicle fired at him first, but police were unable to find evidence that anyone other than Mohamed fired a weapon, according to Local 12. Evidence recovered at the scene indicated roughly 10 shots had been fired in total, the same figure Mohamed gave investigators. Mohamed also admitted that minors were present during the shooting, per the terms of his plea deal.
Investigators reviewing videos from Mohamed's phone and from friends' social media accounts found footage showing the group displaying firearms, including what appeared to be the P80 pistol used in the shooting. After the attack, Mohamed messaged a friend saying he expected to be “locked up” and claimed people were “snitching,” according to the seed facts reported by Pioneer Press reporter Nick Ferraro.
A Conflicting Age on Record
Court records and news coverage have not consistently agreed on Mohamed's age throughout the case. He was identified as 20 years old when initially charged, per Yahoo News, but was later identified as 21 in reporting from Law&Crime around the time of his guilty plea and sentencing.
Minnesota's first-degree assault statute covers conduct that inflicts great bodily harm on another person, and the charge Mohamed pleaded guilty to allowed prosecutors to resolve the case without pursuing the more serious attempted murder count that had originally been filed. The case closes out more than a year after the shooting sent a teenager to the hospital for emergency surgery and left Kelley Park the scene of a frantic, multi-caller 911 response in the middle of the night.
