Faribault man charged with murder of co-worker; Nelson, Morehouse discuss construction permit requirements; Second anniversary of Elle Ragin disappearance passes with little progress

Mohamed Aden Hared

Mohamed Aden Hared, age 24 of Faribault, has been charged in Dakota County with second degree murder in connection with the death of Ahmed Ibrahim Cariif, age 22 of Faribault.  

According to the criminal complaint, Cariff was shot in the parking lot of an Amazon Order Fulfillment location in Lakeville, where the two worked.  

Hared, Cariif and a third man had carpooled to work that day. Hared, who has a permit to carry a firearm, brought along a gun that was equipped with a flashlight attachment. The gun was left in the car while the three men went to work.  

During a break at around 1am, Hared went to the car and noticed the flashlight attachment was missing from his gun. Hared accused the two other men of stealing it.  

When the three men took another break a few hours later, Hared continued to accuse the two men of stealing the flashlight attachment, but both denied taking it. Shortly thereafter, Hared and Cariif got into two separate physical altercations. During the second altercation, Hared pulled out his gun while Cariif tried to force it out his hand. Hared fired his gun twice. One bullet struck a nearby unoccupied vehicle. The second shot hit Cariif in the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.  

Dakota County Attorney Katherine Keena called the incident “senseless” and “over a trivial matter.” She said gun violence should have no place in communities, neighborhoods and workplaces.  

Bail was set in the amount of $2 million without conditions and $1 million with conditions by Judge Krista Marks. Mr. Hared’s next court appearance is July 15th in Hastings.  

Permits required for any work except for maintenance in Northfield 

The second holiday weekend of the summer is here, and many people will take the opportunity to work on some home improvement projects – weather permitting, of course.  

Northfield Area Fire Chief Tom Nelson and City Building Official Mike Morehouse said they have seen an increasing number of malfunctioning appliances in homes that were not installed properly. In each of those cases, a permit was not filed for the job, which means nobody from the city inspected the work. Morehouse said an inspection would catch improperly installed equipment immediately, saving that home from possibly being in danger should something go wrong.  

Morehouse said the responsibility for pulling a permit rests with whoever is doing the work. If a homeowner is doing the work themself, then they are responsible. If a contractor is doing the work, then that person is responsible for acquiring the permit, but the homeowner is responsible for making sure it’s done. Whoever pulls the permit, Morehouse said, is also responsible for scheduling an inspection.  

The City of Northfield requires a permit for any sort of work, electrical, plumbing, mechanical or carpentry, that does not qualify as maintenance. He said some people will be surprised to know that if they have to replace their washing machine, a permit is required for that job.  

“If you change anything or alter or replace something, that’s when a permit would be required. So if you’re going to replace a water heater, a gas stove, replace a kitchen sink a new gas dryer, or even an electric water heater, we need a permit for that.” 

Quite often something is not done right because the person doing the work is not adequately trained for that specific job. Nelson cited a recent case of a water heater that was leaking gas, which resulted in a call to the fire department. The water heater had been installed by a friend of the homeowner who was a plumber. Nelson said people should not make assumptions that just because a friend or a neighbor is in the construction and maintenance business, they know how to do everything. And he said a person with a skilled license doing work outside of their area of expertise can put their license in jeopardy.  

“Just because your next door neighbor is an electrician, let’s say, or a plumber, that doesn’t mean that they have a contractor’s license. A contractor is the one who needs to pull these permits, unless it’s you, the homeowner. So if you ask your neighbor who’s the electrician to come and do some work on the side, their license can be in jeopardy. Something happens because they’re not a contractor.” 

For more information on how to acquire a construction permit, visit the Home & Yard section of the city’s website at northfieldmn.gov  

Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Area Fire Chief Tom Nelson and Northfield Building Official Mike Morehouse can be heard here 

Ragin case remains open, police still asking for help 

Elle Ragin

Yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of the disappearance of 6-year-old Elle Ragin. The case remains open and the Northfield Police Department, along with several assisting law enforcement agencies, have continued to investigate her disappearance with little success.    

On July 2nd of 2022, the Northfield Police Department was called to a residence at 604 Maple Brook Court by an extended family member of Elle and her mother Lisa Wade. Police discovered Wade in the home, the victim of an apparent suicide, along with a note that read, “Elle is dead. I love you all. I am so sorry sorry sorry sorry.” After searching the house and surrounding areas with officers, canine teams, drones, and helicopters police were unable to locate Elle.     

Initial investigation revealed that Wade may have been involved in the disappearance of her daughter several days before taking her own life. The investigation showed that Elle had been last seen outside of her home on June 19, 2022.Four days later Lisa Wade was found alone in a state park in Stearns County, on the banks of the Mississippi River. She had been there for more than a day and told authorities she had lost her phone and car keys while hiking. After returning home to Northfield, Wade had contact with family members and was characterized as emotionally distraught.    

Several leads have produced some evidence of what may have happened, but nothing concrete.    

Anyone with information that would assist in locating Elle Ragin, should call the Northfield Police Department at 507-645-4477 and share that information. Anonymous information may be passed along to Crime Stoppers. 

KYMN Daily News 7/3/24

Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net

Related Posts

Local Events

Riverwalk Winter Market Fair

Saturday, December 21, 2024 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm – Riverwalk Winter Market Fair December 21st at the Northfield Middle School 9am – 1pm Shop local this holiday season! Local vendors with baked goods, fine arts, crafts & decor, lotions & soaps, farm products, and so much more! Live music from 10am to 1pm.

View Event »

Riverwalk Winter Market Fair

Thursday, December 12, 2024 @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Riverwalk Winter Market Fair December 12th at Armory Square from 5pm – 9pm Shop local this holiday season! Local vendors with baked goods, fine arts, crafts & decor, lotions & soaps, farm products, and so much more! Live music and the bar will be open for N/A and cocktails!

View Event »