Joseph Milligan was a loving son, grandson, fiancé, and father from Minneapolis. The 26-year-old Black/African American man was self-employed and, by all accounts, a faithful and dedicated family man. His life was cut short in a violent confrontation that unfolded in front of his fiancée and her two small children.
On the evening of May 28, 2024, Milligan was in the driver’s seat of a car in the 400 block of 23rd Avenue North.
His fiancée was beside him, and her children, ages one and four, were in the back seat. An argument broke out between Milligan and his fiancée's cousin over a vehicle. The cousin had reportedly been given a car registered to the fiancée and was supposed to take over the payments, but he had failed to do so, and she had asked for the car back. During the dispute, the cousin, who was standing outside the vehicle, pulled out a gun and fired into the car, striking Milligan in the head. The car then crashed. After the crash, the shooter fled the scene on foot.
Police were alerted by a ShotSpotter notification around 8 p.m. and arrived to find a chaotic scene. The car sat in the street with shattered windows and bullet holes. Inside, Milligan’s fiancée was cradling his bleeding head. A bystander had taken the two terrified children into a nearby home for safety. The one-year-old girl had blood spatter on her face and body. Paramedics rushed Milligan to North Memorial Health Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries the following day, May 29, 2024. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner later ruled his death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the head.
Initially, Milligan’s fiancée told investigators the shooter was her brother before clarifying that he was her cousin, Kinglewes Edward McCaleb VI. Police identified McCaleb as the primary suspect, and he was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder for Milligan's death.
The case concluded when McCaleb, then 21, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter. In October 2025, a judge sentenced him to 100 months, or 8.3 years, in prison for the killing. He was given credit for 343 days already served.
