Man pleads guilty to manslaughter for fatal downtown Minneapolis apartment shooting

1 dead, 1 arrested after downtown Minneapolis apartment shooting

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis man pleaded guilty Monday for fatally shooting his friend inside a downtown Minneapolis apartment last year.

Mohamed Zaher pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter for the death of Ahmed Elsaied. The shooting happened on Aug. 7, 2022 at the Artistry on 10th apartment building, located on the 1000 block of South Marquette Avenue.

Zaher told police that he and Elsaied were in the apartment together when he was handling Elsaied's gun. While trying to pull the slide back, Zaher had his finger on the trigger and the gun went off.

Officers arrived at WCCO-TV at about 8 p.m. on a report that the handgun used in the shooting had been tossed down from the apartment's balcony, landing on the station's rooftop WCCO

After seeing Elsaied had been shot, Zaher went to the balcony and threw the gun onto the rooftop of the WCCO-TV building next door.

Zaher's sentencing hearing is scheduled for January.

NOTE: The video above aired on Aug. 7, 2022.

Manslaughter

Riley Moser

Riley Moser is a digital line producer at wcco.com. At WCCO, she often covers breaking news and feature stories. In 2022, Riley received an honorable mention in sports writing from the Iowa College Media Association.