Police believe toddler fatally shot man in Brooklyn Park; father now faces manslaughter charges
UPDATE (Oct. 8, 2024) — On what was supposed to be the first day of his trial, Marlon White pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree manslaughter. The other count will be dropped. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 3.
MINNEAPOLIS — Investigators believe a toddler accidentally shot a man to death in 2022 in the Twin Cities, and the child's father is now facing criminal charges.
Marlon Jermaine White, 22, was charged Wednesday with two counts of second-degree manslaughter in connection to the fatal shooting in late September 2022, according to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.
Court documents state the victim was shot inside a Brooklyn Park residence. His friend called 911, and officers arrived to find the caller giving the victim chest compressions. Police say a bullet pierced the victim's "left pectoral muscle underneath his armpit." He later died at a local hospital.
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White was also inside the residence when officers were there, and the criminal complaint states he allegedly first told officers he didn't know where the gun was, but later said he brought it to his car after the shooting. Police then retrieved it for evidence, and later confirmed the shell casing at the scene matched White's gun.
Police say White initially told officers he was watching TV with his 2-year-old son, the victim and the friend who called 911 when he heard gunfire. He said he saw the victim then moan and grab his side before he fell to the ground, court documents state. White says he then saw the gun on the couch. He grabbed the gun and his son, went to his car to drop off the gun, and then came back to "help render aid."
Police took White into custody. In an official statement, he told investigators he brought the gun to the residence but decided to put it under the victim's couch "because he did not want Victim's brother to see," according to the criminal complaint. White then left to get his child and both returned to the victim's residence.
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White said he was talking with another friend on FaceTime when he heard the gunshot. He was not sure who moved the gun from under the couch, court documents state.
The friend White was on FaceTime with later told investigators he heard gunfire, and soon after White told him his son had "just shot him," according to the criminal complaint.
The two manslaughter counts against White cite "culpable negligence" and "neglect or endangerment of a child" as grounds for the charges. It is not clear why there was a nearly 16-month gap between the fatal shooting and the decision to press charges.
White faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
