On a cold Valentine's Day evening in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the life of 34-year-old Nicole Shannon Columbus was tragically cut short. A Native American woman, she was a mother to four children: Aundrielle, Maya, Jamye, and My'kel.
On the night of February 14, 2021, police responded to reports of gunshots near Roosevelt High School in the southern part of the city. Officers discovered a Chevrolet Impala that had crashed in the 4000 block of South 28th Avenue.
Inside the vehicle, they found Nicole and 51-year-old Presley L.C. Taylor Jr., both deceased. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office would later confirm that both had died from gunshot wounds to the head, ruling their deaths as homicides.
A third individual was also present in the car at the time of the incident. This person was evaluated by medical personnel at the scene and was later interviewed by homicide detectives. Authorities have not publicly disclosed what information this witness provided. One of the responding officers reportedly recognized the Impala from several other shots-fired calls that had occurred over that same weekend, though it was not immediately clear if those incidents were related to the double homicide.
In the wake of the killings, which marked the city's fifth and sixth homicides of the year, police launched an investigation. However, authorities have not yet publicly identified any suspects or a possible motive for the shooting. No arrests have been announced in connection with the deaths of Nicole Shannon Columbus and Presley L.C. Taylor Jr., leaving their families and the community awaiting justice.
