In the afternoon hours of July 16, 2022, a distressing discovery was made in the Hawthorne neighborhood of Minneapolis. A passerby noticed a man lying on the ground in front of a vehicle near the intersection of North 21st Avenue and Bryant Avenue North and promptly called 911. The man, identified as 28-year-old Marcus Ricardo Brown, a Black / African American male from Saint Cloud, was found with life-threatening gunshot wounds.
Responding police officers immediately administered first
aid until fire and emergency medical services arrived to take over. Brown was then transported by ambulance to North Memorial Medical Center for treatment. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, he remained in critical condition for four days. On Wednesday, July 20, 2022, Marcus Ricardo Brown succumbed to his injuries. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner later determined his death to be a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the neck.
The initial 911 call did not provide any information about what might have led to the shooting, and the circumstances surrounding the incident remained unclear. The Minneapolis Police Department opened an investigation into what was the city's 48th homicide of the year. In the days and weeks that followed, authorities did not publicly identify any suspects or make any arrests directly related to the murder. While one arrest was noted in the case, a police spokesman clarified that it was not connected to the homicide itself. The investigation into the death of Marcus Ricardo Brown continued, with police urging anyone with information to come forward.
