Julius Smith Charged With Manslaughter In Brooklyn Center Shooting
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 24-year-old man is facing manslaughter charges for allegedly shooting a woman in the head last week in Brooklyn Center.
Hennepin County prosecutors charged Julius Smith, of Brooklyn Center, with second-degree manslaughter in connection to the Thursday shooting. The woman died at the hospital over the weekend.
According to a criminal complaint, the shooting happened at the intersection of North 49th and Girard avenues. Smith told police that he was in a truck with three other people when two armed men approached with a gun and tried to rob them through the window.
Smith told police that he thought the gun was fake, tried to knock it out of one of the assailant's hands and it went off, striking the woman sitting in front of him.
Investigators found surveillance video that captured the shooting. The footage showed Smith sitting behind the victim in the truck, but it didn't corroborate his story about the attempted robbery.
Two witnesses in the truck told police that the shooting was an accident and that Smith had the gun.
If convicted of the manslaughter charge, Smith faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.