On a Tuesday afternoon, August 17, 2021, 16-year-old Varney Kennedy Jr., a Black male from Golden Valley, was fatally shot while sitting in a parked car outside an African market in Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis. The incident occurred around 3:45 p.m. in the 5700 block of Brookdale Drive. An individual reportedly walked up to the vehicle and shot Kennedy multiple times.
First responders found Kennedy with numerous gunshot wounds and performed lifesaving measures before he was transported to North Memorial Medical Center. He underwent surgery but succumbed to his injuries less than an hour later. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office later confirmed that his death was a homicide resulting from multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the shooting led police to identify 18-year-old Marcus Aaron Thornton as the suspect. According to a criminal complaint, a witness who accompanied Thornton to the market told police he went inside while Thornton stayed in the parking lot to sell marijuana vaping cartridges. The witness reported hearing gunshots while inside the store. Surveillance footage from a city camera captured Thornton standing outside a car, pulling a gun from his waistband, and pointing it at the passenger window, which then shattered. Further video evidence allegedly showed Thornton running from the scene, throwing his sweatshirt and shoes onto the balcony of an associate's apartment, and leaving the building in different clothes.
On Monday, August 23, 2021, authorities apprehended Thornton in Minneapolis. A multi-agency team, including Brooklyn Park police, the Hennepin County Violent Offenders Task Force, and SWAT teams from both Hennepin County and Minneapolis, located Thornton in a vehicle and arrested him without incident. He was reportedly armed with a handgun at the time of his arrest. Thornton was subsequently charged in Hennepin County District Court with one count of intentional second-degree murder. Following the arrest, police announced that they were not seeking any other suspects in connection with the homicide. The night of the shooting, a memorial held for Kennedy at the same location turned violent when a gunfight broke out among a large group, with police estimating over 50 rounds were fired. This separate incident resulted in the arrest of three adults and one juvenile for rioting and weapon violations.
