A St. Paul man is charged with attempted murder after shooting an acquaintance in the back of the head during a drunken dispute last month, leaving the victim unable to speak or breathe on his own, authorities say.

Michael Issiah Lane, 29, and the victim showed up at a friend’s residence on the 1600 block of Beech Street in St. Paul last Aug. 15 after a night out, according to the criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County District Court Friday.

Lane woke up the woman who lived there along with her husband and tried to speak to the husband about an injury the husband suffered recently because Lane wanted to avenge it, charges say.

Lane had a gun on him at the time, and was drunk, so his acquaintance told him they should leave, the complaint said.

As the woman was walking the men downstairs, Lane pointed the gun at the back of his acquaintance’s head, as if to shoot him, but then put the gun back in his pocket, according to the woman’s recounting to investigators.

After letting the men out the back door, the woman said she heard a single gunshot and heard the victim instructing Lane to either give him back his gun or shoot him, the complaint said.

The woman walked into her backyard to see what was going on, and that’s when she says she heard Lane say “I ain’t giving you (expletive),” before holding up a gun a few feet from a car the husband was sitting in and pulling the trigger, the complaint said.

The woman heard the glass shatter and the car horn go off and ran back inside her house.

Shortly thereafter, Lane kicked in her front door and told her that someone had shot at the two men, the complaint said. Then he instructed her to tell police that she saw a man in a red and white jersey shoot at them, leading them to fire back.

Police found Lane’s acquaintance unconscious with a gunshot wound to his head when they responded to the scene.

The 27-year-old, who was not named in the charging document, remains in an intensive care unit with very little brain activity, the complaint said. Related Articles Minneapolis man pleads guilty to torching University Avenue business during May unrest

MN woman facing murder charges for ignoring daughter’s medical alarms

Charges: 17-year-old shot 15-year-old in face during marijuana deal in St. Paul

St. Paul man poured poisonous chemicals on ex-wife in Roseville park, according to attempted murder charges

Roseville: Man arrested after ex-wife suffers potential exposure to toxic chemical

Lane, who fled the scene before police arrived, is being held in Olmsted County on a separate gun charge.

He declined to talk to investigators about the charges facing him in this case, which were filed by warrant and include one count of attempted second-degree murder, and a second count of first-degree assault.

No attorney was listed for him in court records.