Second shooter in deadly Mall of America shooting also sentenced to more than 30 years in prison

MINNEAPOLIS — A second man who pleaded guilty to a fatal shooting at the Mall of America in 2022 was sentenced Monday to more than 30 years in prison.

Lavon Longstreet was 17 when he fatally shot 19-year-old Johntae Hudson in the Nordstrom department store. Documents say Longstreet and TaeShawn Adams-Wright brandished handguns with extended magazines and chased Hudson through the store.

Hudson was shot 10 times and one bullet also hit a passerby who was shopping with her daughter. Hudson died instantly.

“They didn't want to hurt him. They didn't want to hurt him,” Lynn Hudson, the victim's mother, told the judge in a victim impact statement. “They executed my son.”

She also addressed Longstreet directly.

“You see that necklace on my neck, Mr. Longstreet? That's all I have of my son,” she said. “It came off his body. I didn't let them bury him with it because it's all I have.”

Longstreet, like Adams-Wright before him, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree assault. Two weeks ago, Adams-Wright received an identical sentence. Their plea agreements called for them to receive a sentence of more than 30 years for the murder and a three-year sentence for the assault, to be served concurrently.

“With the conviction of Mr. Longstreet and his co-defendant, who killed one person and put the lives of many others in danger, we now hold both major players responsible for Mr. Hudson's death,” said Mary Moriarty , Hennepin County Attorney. in a report. “These lengthy prison sentences reflect the seriousness of their actions and protect public safety.”

Two other 17-year-old boys were also charged in juvenile court with second-degree rioting, a felony. One is accused of preventing Hudson from fleeing, while the other is accused of catching him as he tried to flee.