Man charged with attempted murder, assault in shooting at Minneapolis clothing store

A man has been arrested and charged for his alleged role in a shooting last month at a secondhand clothing store in the Como neighborhood of Minneapolis.

Valentino John Gaudalupe Salinas-Avery, 18, faces one count of attempted second-degree murder and three counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. He’s accused of wounding one person and pointing a gun at three others inside Water Wave TV the evening of Aug. 31.

According to a criminal complaint, surveillance cameras recorded Salinas-Avery confronting another customer inside the store before drawing a gun with an extended magazine. The victim also pulls out a gun but runs outside through the front door.

The gunman is seen firing at the victim through the door before going to the shoe section in the back of the store and pointing a gun at a male who arrived with the shooting victim and two “uninvolved witnesses,” the complaint states. The suspect then returns to the front of the store and fires more shots at the victim on the ground before running out the back of the store with an associate and leaving in a blue Hyundai Elantra.

When police arrived at the store on the 1500 block of Como Avenue Southeast, the shooting victim was found injured in a restaurant next door to Water Wave TV. He had suffered gunshots to his lower back and both of his legs.

In a statement posted to social media, Water Wave TV said the “isolated incident” was between “two groups of teenagers.” The store emphasized that all bystanders and employees were unharmed.

“In our five years of business, we have never experienced anything like this. We are heartbroken and ashamed that such violence reached our doors. Water Wave does not condone violence of any kind, and we are working closely with law enforcement to ensure incidents like this never happen again,” the store said.

On Thursday, police found the Elantra, which was registered to the mother of Salinas-Avery’s girlfriend, in St. Paul. After a chase and crash, Salinas-Avery was arrested.

In an interview with police, Salinas-Avery said he spoke to the victim upon noticing him clutching something in his pants through his sweatshirt.

Salinas-Avery recalled asking the victim, “What y’all on?” and the victim responding, “You know what we on.” He was shown an image of the gunman inside the store and denied that it was him.

As of Friday, Salinas-Avery was still in custody at the Hennepin County Jail on $1 million bail. His first court appearance is set for Monday afternoon.

Charging documents note that Salinas-Avery is associated with a St. Paul street gang and was convicted of numerous felonies as a juvenile. His criminal history includes convictions for auto theft and second-degree assault.
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