The Hennepin County Medical Examiner on Wednesday identified the body of a man found shot dead Tuesday in the Como neighborhood.
Authorities have not released the man’s name because his family has not been notified.
The victim, a 19-year-old black male, died after he was shot once in the chest by an unidentified killer about 10:30 p.m. Monday night inside a two-story house at 1091 18th Ave. S.E., police said.
Police have no suspects in the slaying.
Homicide investigators Mike Carlson and Mark Lenzen found the man Tuesday morning, more than 12 hours after he was reported shot.
Authorities immediately responded to the call, but a densely wooded area where the man collapsed more than 100 feet from the crime scene curtailed search efforts, said police spokesperson Penny Parrish.
Minneapolis police responded to a 911 call from Rajab Jabbar, 22, Monday night shortly after 10:30 p.m.
Jabbar drove with the victim to the house where the shooting occurred. After he heard the shots, Jabbar left the scene of the crime and called 911, police said.
Jabbar lived in a halfway house in Dinkytown until Tuesday. Employees at the house said Jabbar’s residency was terminated by Hennepin County officials, but were not authorized to give the reason for the dismissal.
Minneapolis police records indicate Jabbar’s criminal history includes four assaults in the fifth and second degrees between 1995 and 1997. He was also charged in 1997 in a hit-and-run incident. Police have not implicated Jabbar in the killing.
The house where the shooting occurred, which is owned by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, was listed as vacant.
But Bill Paterson, spokesman for the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, said furniture still occupied the home and authorities did not know if the tenants still lived at the address.
The victim in Monday night’s slaying does not fit the description of anyone listed on the lease for the 1091 address, Paterson said. “But there is always a degree of uncertainty,” he said.
Paterson said tenants listed for the home include one adult woman and five children, ranging from elementary school age to late teens.
Neighbors said people were often seen coming and going from the house, but hadn’t been seen since the end of June.
“There was always a ton of kids around,” said College of Liberal Arts junior Rana Kasich. She said the children often knocked on neighbors’ doors, sometimes asking to use the telephone.
Housing authorities began eviction proceedings two months ago. Paterson said the family was to be evicted the first of the month.
But contrary to reports from housing authorities, investigators said they believe the shooting victim lived at the address in question, Parrish said.
The shooting followed a rash of break-ins and thefts in the Como area, a trend that has raised concerns among long-time residents of what they describe as a normally placid neighborhood.
Peter Grotans, a University architecture student who grew up in the Como neighborhood, said the rise in criminal activity has been particularly noticeable this summer.