Nickey Taylor, a 27-year-old Black man, was a devoted father to his 5-year-old daughter. His mother, Milagro Rosario, remembered him as "the best father" and affectionately called him "Niko." She said that her son "wasn't into street stuff," which made his violent death on September 10, 2019, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, profoundly difficult for his family to comprehend.
In the early hours of that Tuesday, just after midnight, Taylor was riding in the front passenger seat of a car driven by
a friend. His older brother was in the back seat. The three were on their way home after attending a surprise birthday party for a friend in South Minneapolis. As they traveled through the intersection of University Avenue and Marion Street, people in another vehicle encountered them and opened fire. Multiple bullets struck their car.
The driver, who was also wounded, managed to get them to Regions Hospital. He was treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening, and Taylor's brother was unharmed. Nickey Taylor, however, was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Investigators determined the shooting happened as the men were driving through the intersection. Taylor's uncle, Alfredo Rosario, lamented the senselessness of the violence. "It's so easy to pull the trigger, but the consequences behind it … you leave a family suffering for what?" he said.
As of September 2019, police were working to determine a motive for the shooting and to identify the people responsible. No suspects have been publicly identified, and no arrests have been announced. The case remains unsolved.
