Darien Berry, a 28-year-old Black man from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, was a father known to friends and family by the nicknames D.Cruz and DayDay. Described as a rapper, singer, and artist, he was remembered for being humble, outspoken, funny, and sweet. Those who knew him said he was always working hard and focused on providing for his family.
On the evening of September 9, 2021, Berry was outside the Pennwood Market on Glenwood Avenue in north Minneapolis, talking with two other men
near a vehicle. At approximately 8 p.m., a man approached and opened fire. Surveillance footage from the market captured Berry clutching his chest after being shot. He attempted to run into the store for safety, then turned back toward the vehicle before collapsing to the ground.
A witness at the scene returned fire at the gunman as he fled. The witness then loaded Berry into a vehicle and rushed him to the Hennepin County Medical Center. Berry died from a gunshot wound to the torso at 3:15 a.m. on September 10, 2021.
When Minneapolis police officers arrived at the Pennwood Market, they found several discharged cartridge casings but learned that the victims had already been taken to the hospital. About nine minutes after the shooting, a man arrived at the same hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. His clothing matched that of the shooter seen in the surveillance footage.
The suspect was identified as 21-year-old Tyreese Giles of Minneapolis. He was charged with second-degree murder in connection with Darien Berry's death. As of the filing of these charges in September 2021, the case was proceeding through the court system.
