Crime & Safety

Man Charged with Allegedly Strangling Father in Argument Over Car Keys

Police say the victim's ex-wife came home while Mohamed Abdirizak Ahmed was choking his father, and that she chased Ahmed away.

A Minneapolis man has been charged with allegedly strangling his father in Burnsville after the two argued over car keys.

Mohamed Abdirizak Ahmed, 25, is charged with domestic assault by strangulation, a felony with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, Burnsville police were called to a home on 117th Street East just after 4 a.m. Aug. 17 on a report of a fight.

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Officers found the victim, who said he had been staying at his ex-wife’s home for several nights, and that his son, Ahmed, had awakened him by pounding on the bedroom door and demanding car keys.

When the victim opened the door, Ahmed punched him in the chest, and the two men began arguing about the vehicle, according to the complaint. The victim went downstairs to call police, and Ahmed followed him.

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When the victim picked up the phone, Ahmed wrenched it away from him and threw it to the ground, then repeatedly pushed the victim against a wall, put his hands around his father’s neck and began to strangle him, the complaint charges.

Ahmed pushed his father to the ground and continued choking him, according to the complaint. While the two struggled on the ground, the victim’s ex-wife arrived.

The woman told police that she had been at prayer, and when she returned to the house, she saw Ahmed on top of the victim, choking him. She said that when she yelled at Ahmed to get off his father, he stood up and left.

Ahmed admitted to police that he had argued with his father, and said he “may have hit his hands” to keep him away, but said nothing else happened, according to the complaint.

Ahmed remains in the Dakota County Jail on a $20,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled Sept. 11 in Dakota County District Court.


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