Fridley man federally charged in New Year’s Day shooting that wounded Minneapolis girl

A Fridley man has been federally charged in connection with firing shots from an AR-style rifle just after midnight on New Year’s Day in Minneapolis, one of which struck an 11-year-old girl in the face as she looked out her bedroom window.

James William Turner Jr., 44, was charged in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis this week with possession of ammunition as a felon after prosecutors say a neighbor’s doorbell camera showed him firing several rounds outside the girl’s home in the 2300 block of Bryant Avenue on the city’s north side.

The girl, La’neria Wilson, underwent surgery to remove bullet fragments from her face on Jan. 3, two days before she turned 12, according to initial charges filed Jan. 4 in Hennepin County District Court.

She was one of two children hurt by gunfire that night: A 10-year-old boy was injured when someone fired gunshots at a St. Paul home shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve. No one has been arrested in that shooting, police said Tuesday.

Turner appeared before a federal judge Tuesday and remained jailed ahead of a detention hearing and preliminary examination set for Friday.

According to state and federal court documents:

Minneapolis police officers received a report of a shooting at the home shortly after midnight on Jan. 1. The girl’s mother, Shenedra Ross, said shots had been fired outside the home and a round had struck her daughter in the face.

The girl was stable and responsive and was able to tell officers that she was sitting in her second-story bedroom when she heard gunshots outside around midnight. She went to her window to look when a round came through the window and hit her in the face.

Officers found eight live cartridges and 24 discharged cartridge casings throughout the boulevard, sidewalk and yard. They collected neighbors’ surveillance videos and Snapchat videos.

A Snapchat video taken before the shooting showed Turner outside, near the girl’s home, arguing with an unknown person before the camera turned to show an AR-style rifle lying across the driver’s seat of a vehicle.

Doorbell surveillance footage showed Turner fire multiple rounds in the direction of the girl’s bedroom window, charges say.

In an interview with Minneapolis police, Turner initially denied shooting a gun. However, after being told what the videos showed, he said he shot the gun into the ground.

Turner is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of a 2019 conviction of domestic assault by strangulation in Ramsey County and a 2023 second-degree assault conviction in Anoka County.

In both cases, Turner received stayed prison sentences and was put on probation.