Tougher charge filed in Minneapolis demonstration shooting

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors have filed a more serious charge against a man accused of shooting five people demonstrating outside a Minneapolis police precinct.

Hennepin County Assistant Attorney Judith Hawley asked Tuesday that Allen Scarsella be held on a higher bail of $500,000 because charges had been upgraded to first-degree assault. Scarsella was originally charged with second-degree assault and rioting.

Hawley says one of the five victims, Tevin King, was shot in the abdomen and the bullet is so close to his arteries that it can’t be removed.

The Star Tribune (http://strib.mn/1NnuuUU ) says Judge Hilary Lindell Caligiuri agreed.

Demonstrators gathered at the Fourth Precinct station shortly after Jamar Clark was shot and killed by police during a struggle last month. Three other men with Scarsella are also charged with aiding a riot.

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Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com

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