A festive religious gathering in a Minnesota suburb ended in bloodshed last week, leaving a young family shattered and a community demanding answers.
Shakopee law enforcement officers flooded the Canterbury Park Expo Center just before 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, after reports of gunfire erupted from the facility.
What they found when they arrived stopped them cold.
A 26-year-old man lay on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds outside the event center.
The victim had been inside celebrating Eid al-Adha, one of the most significant holidays in the Islamic faith, at a venue roughly 25 miles southwest of Minneapolis.
Emergency crews rushed him to Hennepin County Medical Center, but the injuries proved fatal.
Authorities subsequently identified the victim as Khalid Ibrahim Abdi, a 26-year-old Shakopee resident.
Abdi was a devoted husband whose wife was pregnant with the couple’s first child at the time of his death.
He worked as a field representative for AFSCME Council 5, a public sector labor union operating throughout Minnesota.
As many on X pointed out, though many media outlets did not, the shooting suspect is 28-year-old Mohamed Abdirizak Rage.
Colleague Max Hall, who had worked alongside Abdi for a year, remembered him plainly: “He was just a stellar, stellar human being. It’s a huge loss. All of us are really crushed by it.”
AFSCME Council 5 Executive Director Bart Andersen issued a formal statement after news of Abdi’s death spread through the organization.
“Our union has offered and pledges our unwavering support to Khalid’s family through this incredibly difficult and painful time,” Andersen said. “We stand with them every step of the way.”
The statement added that Abdi would be “forever remembered for his tenacious organizing spirit, his warm and inviting presence, and his unyielding passion and drive to fight for the working-class and all historically marginalized communities.”
Iman Yusuf Abdulle, executive director of the organizing center behind the prayer service, said a physical confrontation between Abdi and another attendee ignited the fatal gunfire, and that much of the crowd had already dispersed by that point.
Canterbury Park spokesperson Jeff Maday noted the venue had welcomed the Shakopee Muslim community for similar observances for six or seven years prior without a single violent incident.
The break in the case came swiftly — and partly through the suspect’s own carelessness.
Investigators tied 28-year-old Mohamed Abdirizak Rage to the scene using his cell phone, which he left behind, along with witness accounts, the vehicle he drove to and from the location, and photographs matched against known images of him.
Rage walked into the Shakopee Police Department on May 28 and surrendered.
Scott County prosecutors charged Rage with second-degree murder with intent but without premeditation, as well as illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition stemming from a prior violent crime conviction.
That prior conviction involved a crowbar attack on two separate individuals.
The Scott County Attorney’s Office confirmed formal charges would be filed the following Monday after Rage’s arrest.
Suleiman Aden, deputy executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the community is watching the investigation closely and demanding full accountability.
Shakopee police extended condolences publicly, stating: “Our thoughts go out to the victim’s family, friends, and all of those affected by this incident.”
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to provide financial relief for Abdi’s family as they navigate the loss.
