Maple Grove Man Charged in Brooklyn Park Girl’s Murder

A Maple Grove man has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting a Brooklyn Park teen last month.

Prosecutors say Melchizedek Kpaan, 25, shot and killed Zoe Kpanlin, 17, on July 1.

He’s been charged with second-degree murder and illegal gun possession. 

According to the criminal complaint, the pair had been communicating by text message prior to the meeting.

Kpanlin sent messages stating “be @ Wendy’s in 50 five minutes” and “Uber gonna be so put it in a bag or something.”

Surveillance footage shows the pair in a U-Haul parking lot near 7007 Lakeland Ave. N. 

Kpaan is seen walking with a backpack and a handgun. He threw the backpack at Kpanlin before shooting her in the torso. 

She doubled over before running away and “pulling a firearm from her waistband, which she neither points nor fires,” the criminal complaint read. “Victim then can be seen picking up the discarded backpack and running around the corner of the building where she eventually was found unconscious by officers after placing a 911 call.”

Kpanlin was unconscious by the time first responders arrived, and she died in the hospital.

Kpaan ran from the scene and tossed his sweater in a dumpster, where it was later recovered, the complaint said. He was later arrested by law enforcement officials in Ohio and extradited to Minnesota.

He made his first appearance in Hennepin County District Court on Aug. 8, and is being held in jail. His bail is set at $2 million.

According to a GoFundMe campaign that supports Kpanlin’s family, her death came just days before her 18th birthday.

Brooklyn Park | Maple Grove