Charges: Woman Accidentally Shot And Killed Father On I-94 While Attempting To Break Up Argument
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 42-year-old Brooklyn Center woman says she accidentally shot and killed her father while attempting to break up a fight on the side of Interstate 94 over the weekend, according to charges filed in Hennepin County.
Takesha Deadwyler is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter, both felonies, in connection to Saturday's incident that resulted in major backups on the interstate.
Complaint Details
The complaint says officers were dispatched at 9:35 p.m. to Interstate 94 and 53rd Avenue North on the report of a shooting. When they arrived, officers found a man lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to his head. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The victim's daughter, Deadwyler, was at the scene, along with a man, a 16-year-old girl and 4-year-old girl. A handgun and a single discharged casing were found next to the victim's body.
According to the complaint, Deadwyler and the witnesses said they were all in the car with the victim before the incident. Deadwyler was driving.
At some point, an argument broke out between the victim and the other man, and then became physical, with both men slapping and hitting each other.
Deadwyler said she pulled the car over, and the two men and her got out of the vehicle. In an attempt to separate the men, she said she drew her gun on them. She said she pointed the gun not at her father, but at the other man, telling him to stop. One of the witnesses said they heard Deadwyler threaten the other man with the gun by telling him that she was going to shoot him.
Witnesses told police that they then heard a single gunshot and the victim fell to the ground.
Deadwyler admitted to shooting her father, but said the gun accidentally went off while she was trying to separate the two men, the complaint said.
Deadwyler is in custody. If convicted, she could face up to 15 years in prison on the first-degree manslaughter charge.
