Bystanders Helped Woman Fend Off Attacker Outside Restaurant: Feds

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis man has pleaded guilty in the violent carjacking of a woman outside her place of the restaurant where she worked in northeast Minneapolis, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger announced Thursday.

As part of the plea deal, Shamir Nathann Black, 18, also admitted his involvement in two additional armed carjackings in Golden Valley in the spring, according to federal authorities.

Black faces up to 15 years in jail. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

On June 9, Black and an unidentified accomplice approached a woman outside of her place of work and demanded her car keys, investigators said.

Black pushed the woman to the ground and hit her on the head with a gun, according to authorities.

A bystander tried to help the woman fight off Black and the accomplice, investigators said. Black assaulted the bystander and fired a gun in their direction, according to authorities.

When Black got into the woman's car, additional bystanders pull him out and onto the ground, investigators said. At that point, both Black and his accomplice fled on foot, according to authorities.

At the scene, Minneapolis police officers found a Shadow Systems 9mm semiautomatic pistol wrapped in a gray sweatshirt, investigators said. The gun had been reported stolen in Prior Lake in April 2022, according to authorities.

Investigators say they also found a social media video that showed Black waving around a handgun that matched the weapon from the scene.

A Volkswagen Jetta that had been stolen from a Prior Lake that same night was later found at Black’s home in Minneapolis residence, according to authorities.