Demonstration held in Minneapolis for Andrew "Tekle" Sundberg
MINNEAPOLIS – People gathered outside the Minneapolis apartment Saturday where 20-year-old Andrew 'Tekle' Sundberg was shot and killed by Minneapolis police. Demonstrators joined family members as they demanded more answers from law enforcement.
Two Minneapolis police snipers shot and killed Sundberg Thursday morning following a 6-hour long standoff.
The BCA, the top law enforcement agency in the state, is investigating the deadly use of police force. It still remains unclear what exactly prompted the officers to shoot.
According to investigators, Sundberg fired multiple gunshots inside the Seward neighborhood apartment building Wednesday night, and a neighbor, Arabella Yarbrough, called 911 saying a bullet went through her wall.
Yarbrough interrupted the demonstration Saturday as the group was getting ready to start the rally. She said she felt threatened by Sundberg and feared for her and her children's lives that night.
"He tried to kill me in front of my kids," she said.
Sundberg's parents attended the rally and sympathized with Yarbrough.
"I wish I could wrap my arms around her and tell her I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry she had to experience that I'm so sorry for her pain," Cindy Sundberg said.
His family believes he was going through a mental health crisis at the time.
"Tekle was an imperfect human as we are all imperfect humans and he did not deserve to be picked off like an animal from a rooftop," Sundberg said.
Those who knew Tekle remembered him for his love of art, photography and his cat.
Jeff Storms, a civil rights attorney representing his parents said he was adopted from Ethiopia when he was 4 years old and had many siblings.
Storms said the family still has many unanswered questions and little information about what prompted police to shoot. Storms has requested body camera footage be released to the family.
On Saturday, Minneapolis police said the city attorney's office is working to release footage to the family, and eventually to the public too. They said they're still going through hundreds of hours of footage from the cameras of more than 50 officers on scene.
According to the search warrants, BCA investigators recovered a pistol with an extended magazine and several bullet casings from Sundberg's apartment. Also recovered was a bullet fragment from a neighboring apartment unit.
Investigators also collected the snipers' rifles and two bullet casings, as well as several less-than-lethal rounds, although it's yet unclear when or if those were fired.
The officers who fatally shot Sundberg were identified as Aaron Pearson and Zachary Seraphine, members of the SWAT team.