A St. Paul, Minnesota, man accused of a carjacking is facing federal charges after the ensuing chase left two women dead and a child injured.

People called police in Minneapolis at around 8 a.m. local time Thursday to report that Edward Tiki Arrington, 45, also known as Troy Mike Payton, was driving a red SUV erratically by swerving into oncoming traffic, driving on the sidewalk and speeding, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota said Friday.

After running a red light and crashing the red SUV into a white Infiniti SUV, Mr. Arrington got out. The U.S. attorney’s office said that Mr. Arrington pointed his gun at the Infiniti and tried to get into the car, but the other driver was able to get away. After that, Mr. Arrington ran towards a black Volkswagen Passat.

Mr. Arrington is accused of brandishing his gun at the driver of the Passat and carjacking it before driving away against the direction of traffic. Mr. Arrington then got two dogs out of his red SUV and into the Passat.

Federal prosecutors also accused Mr. Arrington of pointing his gun at the driver of a black Jeep that approached the intersection where the incidents were occurring, who was also able to get away, and at a pedestrian in the area. Mr. Arrington asked the pedestrian where her guns were and, when she said she did not have any, subsequently returned to the Passat.

The Minneapolis Police Department put out word that the Passat was involved in shots being fired. Police found Mr. Arrington driving the Passat and tried to pull him over, but he fled and the police gave chase, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Mr. Arrington is accused of running a second red light and hitting a blue Ford Focus that was in the intersection legally, killing two women and injuring a child passenger, who suffered bilateral femur fractures and a traumatic brain injury, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Federal prosecutors did not name the victims; a Minnesota State Patrol online crash report named the deceased driver of the Focus as Marisa Casebolt, 25, and her deceased adult passenger as Liberty Borg, 25. The injured boy was Ms. Borg’s child, according to Minneapolis TV station KSTP-TV.

Mr. Arrington was also injured and taken to a hospital for unspecified non-life-threatening injuries, according to the state patrol’s report.

Prosecutors charged Mr. Arrington with one count of carjacking and one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. If convicted, Mr. Arrington faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison and as much as life in prison.

Carjackings that result in deaths also carry the possibility of the death penalty, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

At the state level, Mr. Arrington faces a charge of fleeing police in a motor vehicle resulting in deat,h according to Minneapolis TV station KARE-TV.

The U.S. attorney’s office also said that Mr. Arrington’s prior criminal history includes Minnesota state convictions on assault and firearms charges and a 2009 federal conviction for possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute it.

“Two young women should be alive today.  Instead, their lives were cut short by a senseless crime committed by a career criminal. They deserved better.  We all deserve better.  I am weary of this endless violence.  Minnesota deserves peace. We will keep fighting to restore it,” Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joseph Thompson said.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.