A Minnesota man has been convicted of murder in the 2024 road-rage shooting death of a 26-year-old father of two.
Ian Loi Bursey, 27, was found guilty Monday of two counts of second-degree murder and one count of drive-by shooting toward an occupied vehicle or building in connection with the death of Tajai Evans.
The fatal encounter happened on Nov. 4, 2024, in St. Paul after a dispute between Bursey and the occupants of a Toyota Corolla escalated from an argument on the road to a confrontation involving gunfire.
Bursey had been driving a Hyundai Sonata and told investigators he was on his way to work as a Lyft and Uber driver when the Corolla repeatedly cut him off.
He claimed the other car had cut him off about five times and said the driver and Evans laughed and pointed at him when he confronted them.
The Corolla driver gave police a different account.
According to charging documents, he said Bursey pulled in front of the Toyota and brake-checked him. He said he changed lanes in an attempt to get away, but the two vehicles later ended up beside each other at a red light.
The driver said Bursey accused him of cutting him off, which he denied.
The confrontation continued after the Corolla driver and Evans stopped at a tobacco store.
According to investigators, Bursey followed them into the parking lot, drove past their vehicle and threw something at it before leaving.
After Evans and the driver finished shopping, they later saw Bursey’s Hyundai pulled over nearby.
Evans got out of the Corolla and approached Bursey.
The Corolla driver told police Evans began punching Bursey as he sat in his vehicle.
Bursey later acknowledged that Evans struck him and told investigators he had a bloody nose after the confrontation.
But the two sides sharply differed over what happened next.
Bursey claimed he feared for his safety and believed the men might be armed.
He told investigators he grabbed his gun and fired from inside his car, saying he did not intend to kill Evans.
Bursey said he thought the men appeared suspicious and were holding their pockets, although he could not say he actually saw either of them with a gun.
The Corolla driver told police Evans was not armed.
He said only a few seconds passed between Evans beginning to punch Bursey and Bursey opening fire.
Evans was hit multiple times.
He managed to get back into the Corolla, and the driver attempted to rush him to the hospital.
The Toyota crashed in downtown St. Paul before reaching medical care.
Police found Evans in the passenger seat while a nurse who happened to be nearby performed CPR.
Evans was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner later determined that he died from multiple gunshot wounds.
Bursey remained at the original shooting location and called 911 himself.
He told dispatchers that he had been assaulted during a road-rage incident and had shot the man who attacked him.
Officers found Bursey with a bloody nose and recovered a handgun, ammunition and spent shell casings from his vehicle.
Investigators also reviewed surveillance footage that prosecutors said showed Bursey re-engaging with the Corolla after the vehicle had been parked for several minutes.
The evidence became a central part of the prosecution’s case as jurors considered whether Bursey’s use of deadly force was legally justified.
The jury ultimately rejected his defense and convicted him on all counts. Hoodline
Evans was remembered by relatives as a devoted father whose life revolved around his two young children.
His family described him after his death as protective, loyal and deeply caring.
Bursey is scheduled to return to court for a hearing on Dec. 4 and is expected to be sentenced on Dec. 11.
