In the early morning hours of June 14, 2020, the life of 22-year-old Marcus Lashaun Banks Jr., a Black/African American male from Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, was tragically cut short. A fight that began inside an establishment on the 200 block of West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis spilled out into the street, erupting into a chaotic scene of gunfire. When the violence subsided, seven people had been shot.
Banks, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head, was rushed to a local hospital in a private vehicle. He succumbed to his injuries the following day, and his death was ruled a homicide by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner.
The investigation that followed painted a grim picture of a gun battle involving multiple shooters. Investigators recovered a significant number of discharged cartridge casings from the scene, indicating the intensity of the exchange. For a time, the suspects remained at large, having fled before police arrived. The initial lack of arrests left a community reeling and a family searching for answers. The tragic event was one of several shootings that occurred in Minneapolis during a particularly violent period.
Eventually, a breakthrough in the case led to the arrest of Desean J. Solomon, a man with a lengthy criminal history. In a state case, Solomon was convicted of second-degree murder for his role in the death of Marcus Banks and received a sentence of more than 36 years in prison. Subsequently, in a broader federal crackdown on gang violence, Solomon, identified as a member of the Bloods street gang, was convicted in connection with the murders of both Marcus Banks and another individual. This federal conviction resulted in a life sentence. Court proceedings revealed that the initial confrontation may have stemmed from a robbery inside the establishment. Two other men, Michael Burrell and Leontawan Holt, were also implicated in the events of that night. Burrell was identified as having started the gunfight that led to Banks' death.
