Two charged in Edina hospital shooting

A Minnetonka man and Minneapolis woman have been charged in connection to a recent shooting at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Matthew Rush, 33, was charged with attempted second-degree murder, attempted first-degree aggravated robbery and second-degree assault. Lucinda Peterson, 50, was charged with two counts of aiding an offender and one count of aiding and abetting attempted aggravated robbery. Both are expected to make their first court appearance September 30.

According to the criminal complaints, on September 14, Edina Police responded to a report of a shooting in the west parking ramp of Fairview Southdale Hospital, where a victim had been shot in the head.

The victim told police he had arrived for work at the hospital when Rush approached him in the parking lot, tapped on his car window and asked to use his phone. After letting him do so, Rush handed the phone back to the victim, pointed a gun at him and threatened to kill him, the complaint continues.

The victim attempted to grab the gun from Rush but was then shot. After Rush fled the scene, the victim noticed he was bleeding from his forehead and was able to get inside the hospital for treatment.

Surveillance video from a nearby business showed a silver, two-door car with a large dent on the passenger side driving away from the area of the shooting. Investigators issued a crime alert with images of the silver vehicle from the surveillance footage.

On September 24, investigators received information from the Savage Police Department that a car matching the images of the crime alert had been involved in a theft of credit cards on September 15. The stolen credit cards were used by Peterson, the registered owner of the silver car, the complaint states.

Edina police were familiar with Peterson because she was the passenger in a vehicle which fled from police on August 20. The driver of the vehicle on August 20 was Rush, and the victim was able to identify Rush as the shooter in the September 14th incident, the complaint says. Investigators obtained cell data from Rush and Peterson and determined that both Peterson’s and Rush’s phones were in the area of Fairview Southdale Hospital at the time of the September 14th shooting.

Rush and Peterson were arrested on September 27 and are currently being held at the Hennepin County Jail.

View the criminal complaint against Rush (PDF).

View the criminal complaint against Peterson (PDF).