"Little Todd" Copeland, 9, and a pal decided Tuesday that they liked each other's trick bicycles so much that they'd swap. But when their fathers heard about the trade, one didn't like it.
A fight ensued Wednesday night. When it ended, Little Todd's dad, Todd A. Copeland, 28, was dead and a friend had been shot in the arm outside a duplex in the 2900 block of N. 4th St. in Minneapolis' Hawthorne neighborhood.
About noon Thursday, police arrested a 30-year-old man in connection with the shooting. The suspect is a friend of the other father.
Details are still unfolding, but witnesses and police gave this account:
Copeland and his older brother, Michael, 30, were going to talk to other's boy father, who was unhappy that his son's blue trick bike with mag wheels had been traded for a black one that Copeland had put together in his back yard.
Before they met up with the other father, another neighborhood boy told them that Little Todd (whose real name is Don Quarius Copeland) and his friend had settled things.
So Todd Copeland and his brother went to the duplex, and Mike Copeland said that when he left about 8:30 p.m., his brother was drinking beer with friends, including Carlos DeFrance, 18.
A short time later, the other boy's father and his friend knocked on the door of the duplex. When Copeland came out, the father punched him and knocked him down. Copeland got up and chased the father into the street. DeFrance followed.
When the other father's friend pulled a gun, DeFrance and Copeland ran for the house. DeFrance was shot in the arm and was recuperating at home Thursday. Copeland was shot in the neck, side and chest.
In the upstairs unit of the duplex, Tina Kelm, 36, was putting her 1-year-old to bed when she heard shots and called police. Her brother, Joe DeMars, said he heard about four shots.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1557/4834589.html
A fight ensued Wednesday night. When it ended, Little Todd's dad, Todd A. Copeland, 28, was dead and a friend had been shot in the arm outside a duplex in the 2900 block of N. 4th St. in Minneapolis' Hawthorne neighborhood.
About noon Thursday, police arrested a 30-year-old man in connection with the shooting. The suspect is a friend of the other father.
Details are still unfolding, but witnesses and police gave this account:
Copeland and his older brother, Michael, 30, were going to talk to other's boy father, who was unhappy that his son's blue trick bike with mag wheels had been traded for a black one that Copeland had put together in his back yard.
Before they met up with the other father, another neighborhood boy told them that Little Todd (whose real name is Don Quarius Copeland) and his friend had settled things.
So Todd Copeland and his brother went to the duplex, and Mike Copeland said that when he left about 8:30 p.m., his brother was drinking beer with friends, including Carlos DeFrance, 18.
A short time later, the other boy's father and his friend knocked on the door of the duplex. When Copeland came out, the father punched him and knocked him down. Copeland got up and chased the father into the street. DeFrance followed.
When the other father's friend pulled a gun, DeFrance and Copeland ran for the house. DeFrance was shot in the arm and was recuperating at home Thursday. Copeland was shot in the neck, side and chest.
In the upstairs unit of the duplex, Tina Kelm, 36, was putting her 1-year-old to bed when she heard shots and called police. Her brother, Joe DeMars, said he heard about four shots.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1557/4834589.html
