Authorities have charged a St. Paul man with attempted murder in connection with a shootout in an East Side Cub Foods parking lot Sunday. He’s the third person charged and is allegedly the first of the three to open fire.

The Ramsey County attorney’s office charged Isaiah Joel Parkin, 20, with one count of second-degree attempted murder with intent but not premeditated and one count of a drive-by shooting.

According to the criminal complaint:

On Sunday morning, Parkin was either in or had just gotten out of a vehicle when he “recklessly” fired a gun at an occupied vehicle. The complaint said that Parkin was the first one to fire his gun in the shootout that sent innocent bystanders fleeing.

Bullets grazed a 16-year-old girl and damaged a window of the grocery store where a Girl Scout was inside packing and selling cookies, according to the charges.

Officers responded to the Cub Foods about 10:45 a.m. Sunday following reports of men shooting at each other in the parking lot. They had left in different cars.

Security staff at the store on Clarence Street off Maryland Avenue showed officers eight .40-caliber casings near the front entrance.

Rounds struck two vehicles in the lot and shattered their windows. Officers found five .22-caliber spent rounds and six 9mm rounds on the pavement near the store.

“Surveillance video showed multiple people not involved in the incident were in the parking lot at the time of the shootout,” according to the criminal complaint. “One person with a walker had to hustle into the store when the shooting erupted.”

One person said he was shot at while standing on the passenger side of his cousin’s car. He felt a bullet pass his head and dived to the ground. A 16-year-old girl later sought medical treatment because a bullet grazed her, the complaint said.

Two others were charged earlier this week.

Surveillance video showed a 19-year-old, identified as Marquan Husten-Myles, and a 17-year-old leave the store, the complaint said. A man (now known to be Parkin) exited a car, walked toward them and shot at them.

Husten-Myles ran and fired several rounds at the shooter, the complaint said. The 17-year-old is also accused of firing several rounds at Parkin. Husten-Myles and the teen returned to their car and drove away.

Prosecutors charged Husten-Myles with two counts of possession of a firearm and one count of possession of ammunition by an ineligible person. He isn’t allowed to possess firearms or ammunition because of a juvenile conviction for first-degree aggravated robbery.

The 17-year-old is charged with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless discharge of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a person under the age of 18. He is on probation for a juvenile conviction of possession of a firearm by an ineligible person and was previously on probation in another case for the same offense, according to the current juvenile petition.

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Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson had enough on his plate in preparing for Sunday’s National Invitational Tournament game at Indiana State.

In the meantime, Johnson has been juggling possible roster additions via the NCAA transfer portal, which swung open Monday.

“Every minute that we are not focused on Indiana State, we are focused on the portal,” Johnson said Friday. “We spent all morning combining both, like we did (Thursday), and the (boys basketball) state tournament is going on here (at Williams Arena), so we are trying to do that. We are trying to see who is in the portal, the whole thing.”

It’s unclear which current Gophers players might leave after the postseason, including the chance that power forward Dawson Garcia and shooting guard Cam Christie pursue NBA prospects.

Johnson credited his coaching and support staff for being on top of both objectives this week.

“It’s just what you got to do,” Johnson said. “We will put together the necessary time needed to do both.”

Johnson chatted with media members on Friday afternoon, just before full attention turned to the Sycamores in the U’s practice. Minnesota (19-14) plays No. 1 seed Indiana State in the second round of the NIT at 1 p.m. Sunday at Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind.

Indiana State (29-6) won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title, but missed out on the NCAA tournament when Drake won the conference tournament.

The Sycamores are eighth in the nation in points per game, averaging 84.9, and they beat Southern Methodist 101-92 in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday. The Sycamores’ primary rotation of six players all shoot 35 percent or better from 3-point range.

Indiana State has a “crazy combination of talent and skill that you just don’t see,” Johnson said. “… All six guys can dribble, pass and shoot.”

With the Gophers’ season continuing with a win over Butler in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday, Johnson currently lives in a foggy gray area.

“The hardest part about it is the longer you play, the longer you don’t know what your roster is going to look like, so you (looking) are in the portal, but you are kind of in the portal guessing to a certain extent, unless you know you have open scholarships already,” Johnson said.

Johnson has commiserated with other coaches in similar plights while navigating the postseason.

“(Transferring players) are going in and you have to monitor it and have to look at certain positions and certain guys,” Johnson said. “You have no idea really what you need to attack because your roster is still intact because you are still playing. There is no book that tells you how to do that. You are out there, trying to do the best you can, and at the same time, you are still trying to win games and continue your season.”

Johnson said there was “zero consideration” of passing on the NIT to focus on the roster for next season. Indiana and six other major programs opted not to play in the NIT so they could put single-minded focus on their futures.

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” Johnson said. “The longer you play, the greater it is for your program and what you are trying to do. At the same time, the longer you play, you do feel like you are up against it just because there is going to be a lot of uncertainty. Guys are going to make decisions sooner than later in some instances in the portal, and you have to deal with that as it comes.”

Gophers point guard Elijah Hawkins told the Star Tribune last week that he will be returning next season. Key substitute forward Parker Fox appears to be leaning toward not using his seventh year of eligibility next season.

Other than those two players, the Gophers’ roster is more to-be-determined until their season comes to an end.

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Former U.S. Rep. George Santos of New York said Friday that he will leave the Republican Party and run as an independent in a bid to return to Congress after having been expelled while facing federal fraud charges.

In social media postings, Santos criticized Friday’s vote by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives to approve a $1.2 trillion package of spending bills.

“After today’s embarrassing showing in the house I have reflected and decided that I can no longer be part of the Republican Party,” Santos said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The Republican Party continues to lie and swindle its voter base. I in good conscience cannot affiliate myself with a party that stands for nothing and falls for everything.”

Santos announced earlier this month that he was challenging Republican Rep. Nick LaLota in the GOP primary in an eastern Long Island district that is different than the one he represented before he was expelled. Among those vying to be the Democratic candidate for the seat is John Avlon, a former CNN anchor.

In December, Santos became just the sixth member in history to be expelled by fellow House colleagues, following a critical House Ethics Committee report that cited “overwhelming evidence” of lawbreaking by Santos.

Santos has pleaded not guilty to charges including lying to Congress about his wealth, receiving unemployment benefits he didn’t deserve, and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses like designer clothing.

A judge has tentatively scheduled the trial for September, after the primary.

Santos, who has admitted to lying about his job experience and college education during his previous campaign, was bashed again Friday by New York Republicans, who also criticized him when he announced his candidacy.

“George Santos’ expulsion from Congress was good for the nation and his resignation from the Republican Party is good for commonsense conservatives,” LaLota said in a statement. “Santos can watch me defend this important swing district and the November election results from his prison cell as he’s being held accountable for stealing an election and ripping off donors.”

Jesse Garcia, the Suffolk County GOP chair, also weighed in.

“This is nothing more than the continuation of George Santos’ need for celebrity status,” Garcia said in a phone interview. “There is no appetite amongst the voters of the First District, Long Island or even the nation for the Santos clown car show to continue.”

In his X postings, Santos criticized LaLota for voting in favor of the spending package.

“ @nicklalota and @JohnAvlon ill see you boys in November!” Santos wrote, ending the tweet with a kissing emoji.

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