A 19 yr old is shot on a sidewalk Walter Lee Dolley, 19, male, was walking along the sidewalk in the 3400 block of Chicago Avenue in south Minneapolis just before 11 p.m. on January 8, 2010, when gunfire shattered the winter night. He was struck multiple times and died of his wounds, a sudden end that left a quiet stretch of Chicago Avenue echoing with police lights and unanswered questions.
Initial reporting placed the scene near 34th Street East and Chicago Avenue South, consistent with the 3400 block location described by investigators.
In the days that followed, the case drew measured but determined attention from Minneapolis police. Captain Amelia Huffman said detectives were examining possibilities ranging from gang and drug activity to robbery or another crime “gone bad,” emphasizing that the neighborhood had long grappled with violence linked to Bloods-affiliated activity and that multiple specialized units—homicide, robbery, assault, juvenile, and the Gang Enforcement Team—were involved in tracking leads. Inspector Lucy Gerold described stepped-up patrols and targeted enforcement around Chicago Avenue. Sgt. William J. Palmer led the investigation and urged anyone with information to call the department’s tips line.
Despite the canvassing, community outreach, and the promise that “there are people out there who know who killed Walter Dolley,” no arrest was announced in the aftermath of the shooting, and authorities did not publicly identify a suspect. The case remained one more unsolved loss in a year that began with a rapid string of homicides in Minneapolis, and appeals for information continued as investigators worked the file.
