MOA Shooting Update: A Minneapolis man convicted of gunning down a young man at Mall of America in 2022 has received a sentence of 30 years and seven months. TaeShawn Adams-Wright learned his sentence Thursday morning in Hennepin County District Court following victim impact statements.
Who is Adams-Wright?
Earlier this year, Adams-Wright, 19, pleaded guilty to both second-degree intentional homicide and second-degree intentional assault in the Christmas weekend shooting that killed 19-year-old Johntae Hudson inside Nordstrom. During his guilty plea hearing, Adams-Wright admitted that Hudson was shot and killed at point-blank range after being tackled.
Grieving parents react as MOA shooting suspect confess to murdering
“My son is gone and no matter how long his sentencing, he’ll still be here,” Hudson’s mother said of Adams-Wright when he pleaded guilty. “His parents will have him, talk to him, write him, see him. We don’t have that. I just want the world to know I had an amazing son who was full of love and life, and who was loved.”
A second suspect, 19-year-old Lavon Longstreet, faces the same charges as those levied against Adams-Wright. Longstreet has a court hearing scheduled for Friday, and a trial is currently set for June 3. Longstreet, who is also from Minneapolis, was 17 years old at the time of the shooting and Adams-Wright was 18.
Two other 17-year-old boys were also charged in juvenile court with second-degree riot, a felony. One is accused of blocking Hudson’s escape, while the other is accused of grabbing him while he tried to flee.