The death of Michael Brasel: St. Paul neighbors place hockey sticks on porches to honor slain coach
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A community is giving a Minnesotan salute for a beloved father, husband and coach who lost his life just feet from his front door this weekend.
Hockey sticks are sitting out on porches in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul for Michael Brasel.
UPDATE: Boy, 17, charged with shooting youth hockey coach Michael Brasel
Brasel's wife says he was trying to stop someone from breaking into her car when he was shot multiple times.
Several families in the neighborhood have put out sticks in Brasel's honor.
"It really just shows how many people he touched," said Andrew McNattin, a friend who coached with Brasel for years in the Langford Park youth hockey league.
Alex Bollman, a neighbor and friend, has several sticks on his porch.
"Just a little salute to him as an important part of our community, that we'll miss him and that he won't be forgotten," Bollman said. "It's a bit of a recognition that it is a tight community and that we're all there for each other when we can be. It's just frustrating that you can't do any more, but we want to make sure to convey our love and appreciation to the family."
McNattin remembers Brasel as a family man first.
RELATED: Friends honor memory of Michael Brasel, beloved youth coach shot dead
"He truly, whatever he did, was for his family," McNattin said. "I was grateful for the time we did get to spend together. I always looked forward to the next time. He was a fabulous father."
As a coach, McNattin says Brasel was "wonderful" with the kids.
"He was the one to pull them aside and really just get into the weeds with them and encourage them and help them along the way and make sure that they knew they were doing great," McNattin said.
No one is in custody. Police are asking neighbors to check their security cameras to see if they caught anything.
An online fundraiser has raised more than $175,000 for the Brasel family.
