Update: Authorities arrest suspect in drive-by shooting, vehicle found

Published 1:55 pm Saturday, June 10, 2023

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Update: 6:45 p.m. Sunday: 

Authorities have also located the 2015 Dodge Durango believed to be involved with the case.

 

Update 5:45 a.m. Sunday:

Authorities have arrested a suspect in the drive-by shooting that killed one person and injured at least two others in Austin on Friday night.

According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Manamany Abella was taken into custody.

The vehicle believed to be involved in the case, a white 2015 Dodge Durango MN plate JAG300, is still missing and being sought by authorities.

Anyone who knows their whereabouts of the Durango, should contact the Austin Police Department at 507-437-9400 or dial 911.

 

Earlier story:

Austin police are asking for the public’s help in locating a vehicle being sought in connection with a drive-by shooting Friday night that killed one man and injured at least two others.

Manamany Abella

The incident happened at about 10:40 p.m. Friday between Second Street NW and Fourth Street North, according to the Austin Police Department.

Investigators are looking for a white 2020 Dodge Durango with Minnesota plate JAG300. 

Investigators are also seeking two individuals who were believed to be in the Durango at the time the incident occurred:

  • Cham Oman, age 28, of Austin, is believed to have been driving the Durango.
  • Manamany Abella, age 23, of Austin, is believed to have been a passenger in the Durango.

Police state Abella and Oman are considered armed and dangerous. People should not approach them if you see them. Anyone who knows their whereabouts or that of the Durango, should contact the Austin Police Department at 507-437-9400 or dial 911. 

Officers responded to a 911 call around 10:40 p.m. Friday about a vehicle that had crashed into an unoccupied home at 701 Fourth St. N. in Austin. A deceased male and two injured passengers were inside of the vehicle.

— Image provided by Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

Upon further investigation, officers learned that immediately prior to the crash five people had entered the vehicle on the 700 block of Second Street Northwest when the Durango approached their vehicle and a person inside began firing. The victim vehicle began to roll, eventually crashing into the home on Fourth Street North.

The driver of the victim vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene. He was taken to the Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy and formal identification. His name will be released once family notifications have taken place.

Two other people who remained in the victim vehicle sustained gunshot wounds. Both were taken by ambulance to Mayo Clinic Health Systems in Austin. The female victim was then transferred by helicopter to Mayo Clinic Hospital St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, and the male victim was taken by ambulance to the same facility. Both remain hospitalized in serious but stable condition.

Two additional passengers in the victim vehicle fled the scene. Investigators are concerned that they may also have been injured and are trying to locate them as well.

Investigators believe that this shooting was a targeted incident. No information has been developed at this time to indicate there may be an ongoing threat to the public. However, this remains an ongoing investigation.

The Austin Police Department is being assisted with its investigation by Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents and crime scene personnel and the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

Additional information will be released as the investigation progresses.