Derrick John Thompson, the son of former DFL state Rep. John Thompson, was booked into Hennepin County Jail Monday afternoon on suspicion of murder, police confirmed.
Police say Thompson was driving 100 mph Friday night in Minneapolis before he t-boned a vehicle carrying five young Somali women, all of whom died at the scene. The victims have been identified as Sabiriin Ali, 17, Sahra Gesaade, 20, Salma Abdikadir, 20, Sagal Hersi, 19, and Siham Adan, 19. Thousands of mourners gathered for their burial Monday.
Hundreds of people are flooding to Burnsville and the burial site for the five young women who died in the Lake St traffic crash on Friday. pic.twitter.com/WsHNzcxMJs
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) June 19, 2023
Thompson has several prior convictions, including multiple convictions for fleeing police and drug possession, according to court records. In 2014, he was charged with committing a crime for the benefit of a gang, but those charges were dismissed.
According to media reports, Thompson was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2020 for a 2018 crash in California that left a woman in a coma. He was fleeing police when he hit a pedestrian and then fled on foot, the reports say.
Metro Transit surveillance video of the Minneapolis crash was leaked to Alpha News reporter Liz Collin, which Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara called “very concerning.” O’Hara said his department will conduct an “internal review” along with Metro Transit police to find “the source” of the leak.
WARNING: Disturbing video shows moment of impact from reckless driver speeding & running a red light before killing five people and fleeing the scene. Sources have identified the driver as Derrick John Thompson, the son of former DFL state Rep. John Thompson. pic.twitter.com/JVvNDwuaOV
— Liz Collin (@lizcollin) June 18, 2023
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office will make a charging decision soon. She also criticized the video leak.
1/@HennepinAtty @MaryMoriarty is being eaten alive in this BS thread where she's trying to spin the narrative away from the criminal to villainizing the leak of a video.
Thank goodness for that video leak.
It's time for THE PEOPLE to stomp down on these BS narratives. https://t.co/T1u8Ww0pn9
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) June 20, 2023
A fundraiser has been started to support the victims’ families.
John Thompson was expelled from the Minnesota House DFL caucus in September 2021 after his alleged history of domestic abuse came to light. He lost his bid for reelection last year.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
