Minneapolis man dies days after being assaulted by his neighbor, police say
A man in his 70s died days after his neighbor assaulted him inside a Minneapolis apartment building last week, according to police.
Officers were called to the apartment building at 314 Hennepin Avenue around 6 p.m. on April 5. Responders arrived to find the victim, a 71-year-old man, unresponsive near the elevators on the 15th floor.
Charges say the victim was not breathing, did not have a pulse, had blood coming from both ears and had lost control of his bodily functions, all of which are "evidence consistent with significant head trauma."
Emergency medical services performed life-saving measures and the victim regained a pulse before he was transported to Hennepin Healthcare.
Survelliance footage allegedly shows the victim holding a laundry basket while arguing with the suspect, a 61-year-old man who alos resided in the building. The other man attempted to walk around the victim to get in the elevator when the victim nudged him with his laundry basket. Charges say that's when the suspect punched the victim on the left side of his face with a closed fist.
The victim immediately dropped his laundry basket and fell to the ground before the suspect rode the elevator down to the first-floor lobby, according to the complaint.
A security guard at the apartment told police that the two men had an "ongoing feud," charges say. The guard says they were at the lobby desk when the suspect came out of the elevator and said he "knocked that motherf***** out."
Police arrested the suspect, who told investigators he punched the victim after he would not let him into the elevator, charges say, adding that the two used to be friends but "their relationship soured."
The Minneapolis Police Department says it was notified on Tuesday that the victim had died at the hospital.
The suspect has been charged with first- and third-degree assault for the incident, but charges are expected to be amended by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office to include homicide.
