Federal charges filed against man who shot Minneapolis girl with assault style rifle New Year's Day

The 44 year old Fridley man arrested after firing an assault style rifle that struck a young girl in the face on New Year's Day in Minneapolis admitted to firing the gun but said it belonged to a friend, according to new federal charges filed this week. James William Turner made his first federal court appearance Tuesday to face one count of illegally possessing ammunition as a felon, one week after police arrested him on evidence that included a Snapchat video posted before the shooting, along with a neighbor's doorbell surveillance footage that allegedly showed it unfold in the 2300 block of Bryant Avenue on the city's northside.

One of several bullets fired from an AR 15 style rifle struck La'neria Ross, now 12, in the face as she walked to her second floor bedroom window to investigate the sound of gunshots just after midnight ushered in 2024. Her mother, Shenedra Ross, later told police that she yelled at her children upstairs to take cover when she heard the shots.

But by then it was too late. La'neria survived but required surgery to remove bullet fragments from her face. "I'm just blessed that my baby is still here," Shenedra told the Star Tribune last week, noting how lucky they are that the bullet didn't penetrate her skull or cause lasting damage.

A recording of a Snapchat video, obtained by the Star Tribune last week, shows a suspect taking swigs from a tequila bottle while rattling off a string of profanities. At one point, the camera pans to the inside of a vehicle, where a long gun is resting on the driver's seat. Minneapolis police arrested Turner on Jan.

3. According to the new federal criminal complaint, which included an affidavit from a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Turner admitted to officers that he was outside the Ross' home the night of the shooing and, when showed a Snapchat video of the rifle, Turner claimed it belonged to a friend whom he refused to identify.

But he also added, "I shot the gun in the grass. Yeah, I did that." On Tuesday, a federal magistrate judge in Minneapolis ordered Turner temporarily detained ahead of a detention hearing and preliminary examination scheduled Friday. A message was left Tuesday seeking comment from a federal defender listed as being appointed to represent Turner.

Shenedra Ross told the Star Tribune last week that she forwarded the video to detectives when relatives discovered social media videos of Turner, whom she said once lived with her family. She said she didn't believe the shooting was targeted because Turner likely didn't know the family had recently returned to Minnesota from Texas.

"Where's the apology?" Shenedra Ross asked at the time. "I want to face him [in court]." According to the complaint, a neighbor gave officers doorbell surveillance video that captured the shooting. The video allegedly showed a man standing outside the Ross home and firing multiple times "at a shallow angle to the northwest, in the direction of [La'neria's] bedroom," according to the complaint.

Police found eight live cartridges and 24 discharged cartridge casings throughout the boulevard, sidewalk and yard outside the home. They were all .223 caliber PMC rounds. Turner is barred from possessing a firearm or ammunition based on 2019 convictions of domestic assault by strangulation in Ramsey County and a 2023 second degree assault conviction in Anoka County.

"It's outrageous how many people are so stupid to be firing guns off into the air. Whatever goes up must come down," Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said during a news conference announcing Turner's arrest last week. "That's a weapon of war, an AR 15. That shouldn't be on the street in the first place." Star Tribune staff writers Liz Sawyer and Kyeland Jackson contributed to this report..