College-bound Henry HS grad killed in shooting at Crystal, Minn. gas station

A juvenile male has been arrested in the shooting death of an 18-year-old outside a metro area gas station over the weekend, police say.

Hae’veon Wesley was shot outside the SuperAmerica on West Broadway in Crystal late Saturday and was later pronounced dead at North Memorial Hospital around 11:30 p.m.

Wesley’s family says they’re being told the suspect is claiming the shooting was an accident and that Wesley and the suspect were close friends.

The Crystal Police Department said Monday that a juvenile was being held at the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center on second-degree homicide charges in relation to the incident. Because the suspect is underage, his identity was not disclosed.

Wesley graduated from Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis in June, where he was a star running back on the school’s football team--being named named team MVP for the 2016 season after a stellar year on the field.

In February, Wesley signed with the University of Minnesota-Crookston to play football. In a video posted to the athletic department’s YouTube page, Assistant Coach Sam Smith said Wesley was a little shy--but obviously committed.

“He told me, coach, I just want the opportunity and I just want to excel at life,” Smith says in the video. “He comes from Minneapolis, inner city, he said he just wants to get out of his environment and get the chance to play the game of football.”

In an email to Fox 9, UMN-Crookston athletics spokesperson Shawn Smith called Wesley’s death “tragic”--adding that while Wesley signed with the team, he was not admitted to the school so he never reported to camp.

The incident remains under investigation.