Man suspected of shooting at National Guard in Minneapolis faces more charges

More charges have been filed against the man accused of shooting at Minnesota National Guard members in north Minneapolis on Sunday. 

Andrew Thomas, 28, was charged earlier this week in federal court with felony weapons possession in connection to the April 18 drive-by shooting. 

And on Wednesday, Thomas was charged in Hennepin County District Court with three counts of first-degree assault against a peace officer, two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of illegal weapons possession. 

Thomas, who is listed as from Minneapolis with no fixed address, was arrested and booked into Hennepin County Jail early Monday before being released to federal officials the next morning, jail records show. 

Thomas is accused of shooting at the two soldiers near Penn Avenue North and West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis while they were on patrol as part of Operation Safety Net, the joint law enforcement effort launched for Derek Chauvin's murder trial.

According to the criminal complaint, Thomas fired "multiple" shots from an SUV at two Minneapolis squad cars and three National Guard vehicles at 4:19 a.m. Sunday and then fled at a "high rate of speed" but officers were unsuccessful in their pursuit. 

Two soldiers were injured, including injuries from glass fragments to the eye and cuts on the face from the glass, the complaint states. 

One guard member said he believed he saw two people in the SUV and the driver was the one shooting. 

Surveillance video captured the shooting and the vehicle. And later that day officers observed an SUV matching the suspect vehicle description. It was spotted at about 9:52 p.m. Sunday in the area of 6th Street South and Cedar Avenue South in Minneapolis.

Police started to follow the suspect vehicle, which then began making "evasive driving movements," charges state. Officers stopped the SUV when it turned into a parking lot at 2100 Bloomington Ave. S in Minneapolis. 

There were two people inside the SUV: Thomas, who was the driver and registered owner of the SUV, and a girl, the complaint says. 

The girl said she met Thomas at a motel in St. Paul the week before and they were going to get food, charges say. She didn't know he had a gun until he took it out of the center console.

Police recovered a 9mm semi-automatic handgun in a brown purse in the front passenger seat, a handgun case, a partial box of ammunition, two handgun magazines, a cell phone, a bindle of suspected drugs, and a .22 caliber revolver in the back of the vehicle, charges say. Discarded cartridges matched the semi-automatic gun and cell phone tower data placed Thomas' phone on the area of the shooting.

Thomas has a prior conviction for third-degree assault, making him prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition, the complaint states.