In the early hours of September 21, 2024, a night out in downtown Minneapolis turned tragic for 20-year-old Benjamin Hezekiah Haggray, a Black male who had recently moved to the city from Georgia. Just before 2 a.m., near the intersection of North 5th Street and Hennepin Avenue, multiple fights broke out as bars were closing. Minneapolis police officers, already present as part of a late-night safety plan, were attempting to disperse the crowds when gunfire suddenly erupted.
Haggray was
an innocent bystander, on a date, when the shooting began. He was one of five people struck by bullets in the chaotic moments that followed. He was rushed to Hennepin Healthcare where he succumbed to a fatal gunshot wound to the abdomen. Another man, 21-year-old Lunden Marcel Woodberry, was also killed in the incident. Three other people, two teenage girls and a 23-year-old woman, sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Haggray, who had graduated from high school in Georgia in 2022, was described by his mother as a "very good kid" who never got into trouble. He had aspirations of working in security and joining his brother for contract work overseas.
In the immediate aftermath, police recovered a handgun from the scene and arrested a 25-year-old man on suspicion of inciting a riot. However, this individual was later released from jail without being formally charged. The investigation continued, and months later, authorities made a significant breakthrough. In July 2025, Lamarion Torando Shirley, a 21-year-old from Minneapolis, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and four counts of assault. According to the criminal complaint, surveillance footage showed Shirley engaging with Woodberry, who appeared to be armed, just before the shots were fired. The charges explicitly noted that Haggray did not have a gun and was simply an uninvolved bystander on a date downtown.
