14-Year-Old Boy Fatally Shot Near Woodbury Graduation Party
The 6100 block of Edgewood Ave. in Woodbury, Minn., after a shooting Saturday, June 5. PHOTO BY MN CRIME.
Woodbury police are investigating the fatal shooting of a teen boy near a graduation party on the 6100 block of Edgewood Ave. around 10:45 p.m. Saturday, June 5. Officers found between 30-40 people running from the area after receiving multiple 911 calls with people screaming in the background.
When officers arrived in the area, they found a SUV fleeing at a high rate of speed westbound. That vehicle was eventually stopped near 12th St. & I-94 in St. Paul, where officers found a critically injured gunshot wound victim in the back seat.
After learning of the victim inside the vehicle, officers rushed him to nearby Regions Hospital. Woodbury police confirmed Sunday morning that the boy, who was 14 years old, died of his injuries at the hospital.
Back at the original shooting scene on the 6100 block of Edgewood Ave., police found spent bullet casings and several homes that were struck by gunfire, but no other victims.
Officers found a vehicle damaged by gunfire, believed to be involved in the Woodbury incident, on the 1800 block of Barclay St. in Maplewood. Also believed to be related, officers found another vehicle damaged by gunfire on the 2800 block of Hillvale Ct. N. in Oakdale around 11:30 p.m.
“We believe that the shooters knew each other and that this was not a random act. Detectives are working on identifying and locating suspects,” Woodbury police said in a media release. “Detectives worked tirelessly through the night investigating the case and will continue to work on developing leads.”
Demaris Nathan Hobbs-Ekdahl, 14, in an undated photo shared by family members.
Family members Sunday afternoon identified the boy killed as Demaris Nathan Hobbs-Ekdahl, of Maplewood. The 14-year-old had just completed his freshman year at Tartan High School in Oakdale, where he was a football player, family said.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is assisting Woodbury police in the investigation, along with the Washington County Sheriff's Office and officers in St. Paul, Oakdale and Maplewood.
UPDATE: Police say a man believed to be the stepfather of Hobbs-Ekdahl has been arrested and charged in relation to the shooting. According to court records, 35-year-old Keith Dawson is charged with drive-by shooting, illegal possession of a firearm and two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, KSTP-TV reports. He told investigators he shot toward a vehicle outside the party and the occupants returned fire, striking Hobbs-Ekdahl as he was inside a vehicle not far away.