BLAINE, Minn. — A pedestrian was fatally struck in the Blaine Target parking lot late Wednesday, Jan. 15, by a convicted felon who then fled the scene. Investigators later arrested a suspect after a foot chase.

The pedestrian — Kenneth Alan Niesen, 58, of Brooklyn Park — and the suspect — Pierre Jerel Anderson, 30, of St. Paul — were likely familiar with each other before the incident, said Anoka County sheriff’s office Cmdr. Wayne Heath.

“This wasn’t a person leaving the store or just walking in the parking lot,” Heath said. “There are some other parts to this that we’re trying to piece together.”

At 9:34 p.m., Blaine police and the Spring Lake Park-Blaine-Mounds View Fire Department were called to the store at 1500 109th Ave. N.E. on a report of a pedestrian hit by a vehicle that left the scene, the sheriff’s office said.

Officers gave medical aid to Niesen, who was taken by Allina ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. He died of his injuries at the hospital.

Anderson was located by sheriff’s office deputies in Ham Lake and was taken into custody after a foot chase, Heath said.

Anderson was booked into the county jail early Thursday on suspicion of second-degree murder, according to the jail log. Prosecutors have until noon Friday to either formally charge or release him, Heath said.

In a statement, Niesen’s family said he was a “wonderful son, brother, husband, father, and friend to everyone he met. Words cannot express our grief. Our family asks for privacy as we mourn this tragic loss.”

Anderson has a lengthy criminal record in Minnesota that dates back to 2007 and includes felony convictions for auto theft, simple robbery, possession of a pistol/assault weapon, possession of burglary/theft tools, theft and fleeing police in a motor vehicle. He has been convicted of driving after revocation 20 times.