Suburban Minneapolis man Jason Michael Mesich is facing one count of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder after authorities say he fatally shot his wife before shooting two Black sisters who lived next door. Mesich’s wife, 47-year-old Angela Lynn Mesich, died at the scene, and sisters 12-year-old Makayla Saulter-Outlaw and 29-year-old Canisha Saulter are hospitalized.
Officers responded to reports of shots fired on the 8300 block of 15th Avenue in Bloomington, Minnesota, at around 11 p.m. on the evening of Sunday, Aug. 30. When they arrived, shots were still being fired. Mesich’s wife was found dead in the couple’s detached garage. She had been shot multiple times in the neck and upper torso.
According to authorities, police then engaged in a standoff with 48-year-old Mesich, who fired 40 rounds at the officers before he was taken into custody. Before he surrendered, Mesich was in the basement of the home yelling and throwing objects, police say.
Sisters Makayla and Canisha were packing a moving truck with their family when Mesich randomly opened fire on them, according to their mother. The two sisters were the only two family members struck by bullets.
Their aunt Rev. Marcia Westbrook said the family was not accustomed to hearing gunshots and assumed the noise was actually fireworks. Makayla was shot in the head and is heavily sedated in critical condition in a hospital. She was shot as she was running away with her 1-year-old niece in her arms to shield her from the gunfire. Canisha is also hospitalized but stable after being shot three times in the legs and hip.
Mesich reportedly told police he and his wife got into an argument over a lack of sex. He said he doesn’t remember much about the shooting but that he “probably” went into the house to get a gun, then shot his wife in the garage after she hit him and told him to shoot her.
When he was asked about the sisters, Mesich said that they weren’t “good neighbors,” and that he “hated all children.”
Some observers have highlighted the contrast of how officers were able to take Mesich into custody apparently unscathed despite the fact that he engaged in a shootout with police, while unarmed Black men have been shot and killed by officers in police encounters.
Mesich is currently being held at Hennepin County Jail and faces up to 80 years of prison time.
