In the early hours of a Monday morning in Minneapolis, the life of a young Black/African American man, Chartez Wells Clark, was cut tragically short. On June 12, 2017, the 22-year-old was fatally shot in the chest, a violent end to a life that had ties to both Chicago and Minneapolis. The incident unfolded near the intersection of West 32nd Street and Blaisdell Avenue South, where police were initially called to what they believed was a single-vehicle accident.
Upon their arrival shortly
before 2 a.m., officers discovered a van that had veered off the road, striking a tree and a fire hydrant. Inside, slumped behind the steering wheel, they found Clark. It was quickly apparent that this was no ordinary car crash. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, and the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office would later confirm he died from a gunshot wound at 1:44 a.m., ruling his death a homicide.
Further investigation revealed that the van Clark was found in had been reported stolen from Brooklyn Center days earlier. While police began a homicide investigation and canvassed the neighborhood for witnesses, details about what led to the shooting remained elusive. In the immediate aftermath, no arrests were announced, and information about any potential suspects was not publicly released. Friends and family remembered Clark, who was known by the nickname "Chubbz," through messages on his social media. The case marked the city's 14th homicide of the year, leaving a community to mourn and await answers that have yet to come to light in the public record.
