Police Believe Boy, Almost 4, Fired Fatal Shot That Killed 2-Year-Old Brother
Brooklyn Park police believe a 3-year-old boy somehow got a hold of a loaded handgun and fired the shot that later killed his 2-year-old brother. Brooklyn Park Deputy Police Chief Mark Bruley confirmed the investigation with CCX News.
The 2-year-old child died Saturday. The shooting happened last Thursday morning at the Huntington Place Apartments in the 5800 block of 73rd Avenue. Police say the 3-year-old boy who they think fired the weapon turns 4 in less than two months.
Police also say a third suspect they had been seeking in the case was arrested on Saturday. The Brooklyn Park Police Department had been seeking a 20-year-old man, who’s identified as the mother’s boyfriend.
Huntington Place Apartments
On Friday evening, Brooklyn Park police announced they arrested the child’s 20-year-old mother and 57-year-old grandmother. Each of them is accused of covering up the crime after the fact.
Forensic analysis will help piece together the final determination of how the boy was killed. That investigation is ongoing, Bruley said.
“Gunpowder residue on the hands, things like that, that we really try to piece together to determine, because essentially it was unwitnessed with what we have right now,” Bruley said.
The deputy chief added, “It’s pretty tough for a 2-year-old to discharge a handgun, not impossible, but tough.”
Police were called to the apartment complex shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday on the report a child shot. Officers provided first aid and CPR to the boy upon arrival. Bruley says the mother reported she was sleeping when the shot was fired in her room.
Bruley said the mother, boyfriend and grandmother all “conspired to conceal what happened and hide evidence of what took place.”
He said investigators expect to submit charges Monday to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for review.
