Brooklyn Park man charged in fatal apartment shooting
A gun lies on the ground at the spot where the shooting suspect was arrested in Brooklyn Park. (FOX 9)
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - Charging documents filed Wednesday detail the shooting that unfolded inside a Brooklyn Park apartment building complex, which left a woman dead.
Hennepin County prosecutors charged 29-year-old James Nedeau II with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in connection to the Feb. 19 shooting.
According to court records, Brooklyn Park police responded to an apartment building on the 5800 block of 74th Avenue North and found a woman dead with multiple gunshot wounds. Inside the office, authorities located discharged cartridge casings near her body and noted the scent of fresh gunpowder. She has since been identified by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner as Deana Cathlene Doely, 29, of Brooklyn Park.
Prior to the shooting, the woman called 911 asking responding police to go into the office because Nedeau allegedly slapped his father and was screaming he was going to kill her. Dispatch could then hear 18 shots being fired and someone screaming, "F--- you!" charges read.
A witness reported seeing Nedeau leave the office with two handguns and enter the elevator, which stopped on the fifth floor. She reported hearing gunfire, and charges state Nedeau had fired six times at an apartment door. An elderly woman inside the unit hid under the dining room table during the shooting. Law enforcement said she did not sustain any injuries, according to court records.
Nedeau then left the building and went to a nearby family member's house, where he dropped off a backpack and allegedly said he had "done something bad." Law enforcement later searched the backpack and recovered three firearms, ammunition and several firearm parts, court records allege.
The complaint states Nedeau called 911 to turn himself in and law enforcement found him sitting on a curb with a firearm. He was taken into custody.
During the investigation, authorities spoke with Nedeau’s father, who said he had visited his son at the apartment when they got into an argument. The father claimed Nedeau pointed a gun and threatened to kill him, so he left the unit and went down to the office.
A witness reported seeing Nedeau in the elevator before the shooting, and he allegedly showed her a firearm and claimed he was going to kill his father and everyone else in the office. He then exited the elevator, ran into the room yelling, "I am going to kill you", and proceeded to shoot multiple times, charges allege.
Nedeau later told law enforcement he had "just lost it" and shot the woman, but was trying to kill his father and the apartment manager. He explained he used two different firearms after the first one ran out of ammunition, charges allege.
He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Feb. 22.