Gang members fatally shot 16-year-old boy outside Minneapolis North High's football field, charges say

Two Minneapolis men face murder and attempted murder charges in connection to a gang-related double shooting this spring that killed a 16-year-old boy.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office charged 19-year-old Markez Patton and 21-year-old DeAndre Antiown Depratto Jr. earlier this week with a count each of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder in the May 21 shooting outside North High School's football field off North Girard and 18th avenues.

A 44-year-old was also struck by a bullet, suffering non-life threatening injuries. He drove to a nearby gas station for help before he was hospitalized, according to police.  

According to the criminal complaint, officers were called to the field around 5:20 p.m. Witnesses said three masked, hooded and armed suspects fled the scene in a vehicle that soon crashed into another vehicle about a half-mile south. The three then ran away on foot.

The complaint says the teenage victim was found on the ground with a gunshot wound to the torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders.

Witnesses told police a masked person, later identified as Depratto, walked up to the teen and shot him multiple times with an auto sear-enabled handgun, which converts a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic machine gun.

Witnesses said the victim wasn't armed when he was shot, according to court documents. Investigators found a dozen 9mm shells in the middle of North 18th Avenue, indicating the victims didn't fire any rounds.

The crashed suspect vehicle was tied to Patton, and an unnamed associate's fingerprints were found inside, the complaint states.

Surveillance video showed another vehicle fled the area along with Patton's vehicle. In late July, an area resident called 911 to report an abandoned car in their garage, which was soon tied to Depratto. 

He was also pinpointed in the area at the time of the shooting via cellphone tower data, court documents show. The vehicle's license plates were missing, its VIN number had been scratched off driver's side door and the interior "appeared to have been cleaned out," court documents state. However, a partial VIN number remained on the windshield, helping investigators trace it to Depratto.

Patton was arrested in a traffic stop in mid-July in the city's Dinkytown district, with Depratto behind the wheel at the time and three others inside.

"Patton attempted to flee on foot and was observed tossing a firearm," the criminal complaint states.

Four other firearms were found inside the vehicle, including one traced to the May crime scene, according to court documents.

Patton and Depratto — whom police say are members of a gang referred to as both "1500" and "Wayne City" — are also charged in connection to a shooting death on June 21, with surveillance footage from that scene showing "a murder in a manner similar" to the July shooting, court documents state.

Patton and Depratto are both in custody at the Hennepin County Jail. If convicted, they each face up to 40 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge and 20 years on the counts of second-degree attempted murder.

NOTE: The original airdate of the video attached to this article is May 22, 2026.