Charges: Man fatally shot ex's new partner as he dined at Bloomington restaurant
A man accused of killing one man and injuring another in a shooting inside a Bloomington restaurant last week was motivated by jealously over his ex-wife, prosecutors allege.
Aaron Le, 47, was charged in Hennepin County District Court on Monday with second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder in connection with the shooting Wednesday at Cô Tu' Oriental Cuisine restaurant.
A 49-year-old man, who police said was a regular at the restaurant, was killed in the shooting. A 25-year-old restaurant server was also shot twice, but he is expected to survive.
Le was arrested while driving through Oklahoma early Thursday.
The Bloomington Police Department said Le is from Texas, although court documents filed Monday provide a Lakeville address.
Charges reveal a report had been filed with federal authorities in August regarding a "contract to kill" and another man possibly involved in the shooting hasn't yet been identified.
According to the criminal complaint, witnesses described the shooter as a middle-aged man wearing a Halloween mask and a maroon hoodie.
Investigators obtained surveillance footage which appeared to show a different man, not Le, watching the victim in the moments before the shooting.
Charges state the man entered the restaurant twice — looking at the victim both times. When he walked out the second time, he opened the door for Le.
The man, who has not been identified, was wearing glasses, a dark-colored jacket, grey shoes and blue jeans.
Surveillance footage allegedly shows Le enter the restaurant and walk towards the victim, who was sitting at a table near the front of the window with another man.
The victim appeared startled, charges state. When Le pointed a gun at the man, "people in the restaurant duck and ran" and chased Le out of the restaurant.
Le is then seen on camera looking through the front window where the victim had been sitting. When Le entered the restaurant again, the victim was hiding behind a display case.
Although "numerous people" tried to wrestle the gun out of Le's hand, he continued to advance on the victim and ultimately shot the man multiple times, charges state.
Surveillance footage showed Le wearing rubber gloves and holding the gun inside a plastic bag.
Investigators learned the victim had been seeing a woman who was recently divorced or in the process of divorcing Le, who was jealous of the man's interactions with his ex.
It's noted that Le had legally changed his name from Khai Le to Aaron Le.
The investigation further revealed that there was a report filed with the FBI in August regarding a "contract to kill" call involving Le, the complaint states.
Authorities used cell phone data to locate Le driving through Oklahoma. He had blood on his clothing and two body armor vests in his vehicle at the time of his arrest.
The restaurant owner and employees told police the victim was a regular customer and normally visited the restaurant on Wednesdays for lunch.
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