A disgruntled tenant has been accused of gunning down three people over a dispute about his parking garage contract, according to authorities.
Tsegaab A. Binessu, a 30-year-old from Saint Paul, Minnesota, was arrested Monday night after police found three people fatally shot in the leasing office of his apartment complex that afternoon.
The victims were identified as Nansi G. Fuentes Zambrano, a 25-year-old from Inver Grove Heights, Dena M. Silcox, a 56-year-old from Saint Paul, and Adam J. Wilwerding, a 43-year-old from Oakdale.
Binessu told police he recently sold his car because he wanted to join the military and that when he tried to get out of his parking garage contract, the leasing office wouldn’t allow it, CBS News Minnesota reported, citing charging documents.
The suspect allegedly admitted to going to the leasing office, but did not say what happened when he arrived, according to the documents. With the help of surveillance video, police were able to piece together the rest.
Binsessu spoke with Wilweding before pulling out a gun and shooting him multiple times, police said surveillance video shows. Binsessu is then allegedly seen shooting Silcov multiple times. After he went out of camera view, more gunshots could be heard.
Binessu’s roommate had told police that Binessu confessed to the shooting, according to authorities.
Police said on Facebook that Binessu was taken into custody in the Minnesota city of Virginia. He faces three felony counts of second-degree murder, according to CBS News Minnesota.
Authorities said, per the outlet, that Binessu was caught driving Zambrano’s vehicle, which appeared to have newly purchased camping gear, his U.S. passport and an empty handgun magazine inside.
Binessu is an immigrant from Ethiopia, according to Fox News. He allegedly complained to police about not being able to bring his family to the U.S. for seven years, which he said contributed to the divorce from his wife and separation from his children.
“Binessu believes he was treated unfairly because he is Black and an immigrant,” court documents said, per Fox News. “Binessu repeatedly said he has lost everything he cared about: his wife, his children, his business, his peace of mind. Binessu said life without his family no longer made sense.”
Neighbors were shocked by the shooting at their apartment complex.
“I can’t believe it at all, and I probably won’t understand,” Traci Stevens, who has lived at the complex for seven years and knew the victims, told CBS News Minnesota.
Residents and family members mourned those killed at a makeshift memorial Tuesday.
“She was able to manage with people she had problems with, but evidently not this one,” Silcox’s father Bob told the outlet. “This is senseless.”
