Dakota Sun Bear Heels Sr., a 27-year-old Native American man, was living in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, when an argument in the city's core turned suddenly and violently toward its end. On January 17, 2020, what began as a confrontation inside an apartment in the 300 block of South Duluth Avenue escalated into gunfire, leaving him grievously wounded.
Accounts describe two men clashing during the dispute, with the tension building until shots were fired at close range.
The shooting itself unfolded in a tight, indoor space—an apartment where, according to reporting, at least one other person in the home heard the gunshots as the argument peaked. The man who fired the weapon left the scene in the immediate aftermath, but then contacted police shortly afterward to report what had happened and surrender, setting the stage for a case that would hinge on what led to those seconds of violence. Investigators treated the shooting as potentially self-defense from the beginning, sorting through witness statements and the sequence of events to determine whether criminal charges would follow.
Heels survived long enough to reach medical care, but the injuries were catastrophic. Reports consistently describe him dying about a week after the shooting, with his death occurring on January 24, 2020—turning what might have been investigated as a shooting with serious injury into a homicide investigation in effect, even as legal responsibility remained contested.
In the months and years after, the case remained marked by that central question—whether the shooter's claim of self-defense would be accepted by authorities. Public updates circulating from advocacy and community sources emphasized that no arrest or criminal charge had been announced, describing the investigation as still open while the shooter remained free. Family-facing appeals echoed the same point, insisting that the explanation offered by the shooter did not match what they believed the evidence showed, and pleading for a decision that would bring accountability.
