An 18-year-old accused of opening fire outside a Minnesota high school homecoming football game has been released from jail after posting bond, a development that has thrust the case into a broader national debate over crime and bail policies. Adam Abdihakeem Adam was released Saturday evening from Hennepin County jail after posting a $100,000 bail or bond option without conditions, according to jail records.
Police allege Adam shot two teenagers outside Eden Prairie High School during the school's Oct. 2 homecoming football game, sending fans fleeing from the stadium. The victims, an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old, were injured in the gunfire. Adam faces two felony counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of second-degree riot while armed with a dangerous weapon. His next court appearance is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
According to charging documents, the violence began when two cars entered a parking lot and a fight involving about 10 people broke out. The driver of one car got out, opened fire on the victims and fled. Investigators identified that driver as Adam, who allegedly was driving his brother's car. Authorities tracked his phone with the vehicle before, during and after the shooting, and he allegedly abandoned the phone and changed his number afterward. A search of his St. Louis Park home turned up clothing matching what the shooter wore in surveillance video, according to the charges.
Police caught up with Adam on Oct. 8 near Highway 55 and Penn Avenue in Minneapolis, taking him into custody without incident. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office credited detectives with its Auto Theft Task Force and West Metro Drug Task Force, along with St. Louis Park and Hopkins officers, with safely boxing in the vehicle. Eden Prairie Police Chief Matt Sackett said after the arrest, «I'm incredibly proud of our officers and investigators who have worked nonstop alongside our law enforcement partners to identify those responsible and hold them accountable.»
The case has intensified concerns about Somali gang-related violence across the Minneapolis metro area, prompting regional public safety agencies to meet under the coordination of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Police leaders said they are sharing intelligence and coordinating investigations to prevent further shootings. The shooting has also become a flashpoint in the national debate over bail reform, with President Donald Trump's Rapid Response 47 account criticizing the release on X, writing that «a Radical Left judge immediately granted him a no-condition bail.»
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya pointed to the homecoming shooting and other recent violence while warning last week that Minnesotans increasingly feel under threat. «Our law enforcement here are calling it out as the product of Somali gang violence, and we've got to identify it, and we have to find a way to deal with it,» Tafoya said. Eden Prairie police are also investigating an Oct. 5 shots-fired incident at a Speedway gas station, where no injuries were reported. Investigators said they have not identified a connection between that incident and the homecoming shooting. Sackett said the homecoming investigation remains active, with additional arrests or charges possible.