On the late summer evening of June 28, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55-year-old Carl Maurice Woodard, a Black male, was shot and killed while sitting in his parked car. The incident occurred shortly before 11 p.m. on the 3500 block of Penn Avenue North. Responding to reports of gunfire, police discovered Woodard unresponsive with life-threatening gunshot wounds. Despite immediate medical attention from officers and emergency crews, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner later confirmed that Woodard died from a gunshot wound to the torso and ruled his death a homicide.
Investigators found Woodard's vehicle riddled with 13 bullet holes. Their investigation led them to a nearby fence with a hole in it, where they recovered 23 shell casings. It appeared the shooter had fired through the opening in the fence, directly at the passenger side of the car where Woodard was seated. Surveillance footage from the area captured a white Chevy Tahoe parking near the scene. A man was seen exiting the SUV, walking between two houses to the fenced area, and then multiple muzzle flashes were visible on the video. Shortly after, the man was seen running back to the Tahoe and fleeing the scene.
This evidence led police to Dameon Markese Collins, a 24-year-old from Bloomington. Phone records also placed Collins at the location of the shooting. Upon his arrest, Collins admitted to driving the white Tahoe and wearing the same clothes as the person in the surveillance video. He also acknowledged his awareness of the hole in the fence, though he claimed he was in the area to meet a girl. In June 2025, Dameon Markese Collins pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder in connection with Carl Maurice Woodard's death. As part of a plea agreement, a first-degree murder charge was dismissed. Collins is expected to be sentenced to 35 years in prison for the killing.
