Denzyl Percell Bacon Jackson, a 21-year-old Black / African American male, was fatally shot in Minneapolis, Minnesota on the afternoon of Sunday, March 31, 2019, just a week before his 22nd birthday. He and two friends were in a vehicle on the 7th Street Bridge over Interstate 94 when the incident occurred. The shooting happened around 2:00 PM, a time when a Minnesota Twins game was underway just blocks away at Target Field.
Another person in the vehicle with Jackson was also shot and critically injured.
The harrowing moments of the attack were partially captured on Facebook Live, as one of the occupants of the car had been streaming their time together. The video, which was widely shared on social media before being removed, shows the men in the car before the sound of gunfire erupts. In the aftermath, a voice can be heard saying, "I'm hit, bro. Call the police." Another video that surfaced showed the scene after the shooting, with one man lying on the pavement near the car, which had its windows shot out.
Minneapolis police responded to reports of a shooting involving two cars. The suspect vehicle was described as a burgundy Dodge that fled the scene after the shooting. Homicide investigators and the Minneapolis Crime Lab processed the scene for evidence. In the immediate aftermath, police stated that the investigation was in its early stages and they did not have a clear motive. There was some speculation among family and on social media that the shooting may have been in retaliation for a double shooting that had occurred a week prior.
Despite the ongoing investigation and pleas from the Minneapolis Police Department for anyone with information to come forward, no arrests have been made in connection with Denzyl Jackson's death. As of the latest available information, there have been no publicly identified suspects in the shooting. The case remains an unsolved homicide.
