Man charged with two counts of 2nd-degree murder in Olson Memorial Highway homicide

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — A man has been charged for the fatal shooting near Olson Memorial Highway in Minneapolis.

Ryan DeShawn Taylor, 41, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder for the shooting death of 40-year-old William Lamont Hudson.

 Man is shot and killed on 1300th block of Olson Memorial Highway

On July 5 at approximately 12:04 a.m., Minneapolis police officers were dispatched to the 1300 block of Olson Memorial Highway on report of a shooting. According to the police report, a witness to the shooting identified Hudson as her boyfriend and that it appeared as though he was no longer breathing. 

When officers arrived on scene, they found Hudson unresponsive with a single gunshot wound in his lower abdomen. According to the police report, when the officers first arrived on the scene, Hudson showed signs of agonal (shallow) breathing but quickly stopped breathing. 

Paramedics transported him to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead. 

According to the witness, she and Hudson had been walking near the building they lived in on the 1300 block of Olson Memorial Highway when she saw a man hiding in the bushes along the fence line near the building. 

The witness suggested the couple turn around and walk the opposite way, and as they approached her residence the man ran out of the bushes towards the witness and Hudson. 

According to the criminal complaint, upon seeing Taylor, the witness threatened to call the police. In response, Taylor said, “You’re going to call who?” Then, per the police report, Taylor pulled a black semi-automatic pistol from his hoodie pocket and fired a single shot into Hudson’s abdomen. 

Taylor then ran back in the direction he came from, and the witness quickly lost sight of him. 

MORE LIKE THIS: Family IDs victims in Robbinsdale high-speed crash as Emily and John Gerding

During the investigation, police conducted an interview with the witness where she told them that she has known Taylor for over a decade and had previously been in a romantic relationship with him. This was later confirmed by Taylor during his interview with police. 

On July 4, the witness attended a barbeque with Taylor. After the barbeque, Taylor dropped the witness off at her residence and made plans to meet up with Hudson, per the criminal complaint. 

Then, around 10:30 p.m., and then again at 11:30 p.m., the witness received text messages from Taylor asking for cigarettes. The witness said she called Taylor in response to this request. 

Shortly after this exchange, the witness and Hudson left her residence and the shooting occurred. 

Taylor was arrested on July 6. In a post-Miranda interview, Taylor reported that he felt toyed with by the witness, saying that they had a romantic relationship but sometimes she would have other boyfriends. 

Taylor admitted to knowing about the witness’s relationship to Hudson, and that on the night of the shooting, the witness had invited him over. 

Taylor also admitted to shooting Hudson to police in this post-Miranda interview and where they could find the gun he used in the shooting. 

Police executed a search warrant on Taylor’s residence and found his gun case but not the gun.

NOTE: The original airdate for the video attached to this article was July 5, 2023.