In the early hours of a summer Friday in Minneapolis, the life of a young Black/African American man, Elijah Lamont Whitner, was tragically cut short. On July 10, 2020, at approximately 12:34 a.m., gunshots shattered the night on the 2900 block of North Sixth Street. When police arrived at the scene, they found 20-year-old Elijah Lamont Whitner suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, his life ending in the driveway of a residence.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner would later confirm that Whitner's death was a homicide caused by the multiple gunshot wounds he sustained. He was not the only victim of the violence that night. A woman who was with him was also shot and rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. The relationship between Whitner and the female victim was not publicly disclosed.
In the wake of the shooting, investigators began the work of piecing together the events that led to Whitner's death. Their efforts led them to identify a suspect in the case. Kinglewes Edward McCaleb, a 20-year-old from Big Lake, Minnesota, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting. According to reports, McCaleb fled the scene after the incident. The investigation into the shooting remained ongoing as authorities sought to bring clarity and justice to a night of violence that claimed a young life.
