2 Mpls Teens Charged in Shooting Death of 5-Year-Old

Two Minneapolis teens were charged Monday with the killing of a 5-year-old boy. According to a criminal complaint, a witness told Minneapolis Police one of the suspects admitted to shooting into the house where little Nizzel George was killed.

Seventeen-year-old Stephon Terrell Shannon was charged Monday with Aiding and Abetting Murder in the First Degree. 

Last Tuesday, June 26, shots were fired at a house located at 4515 Bryant Avenue North.  Five-year-old Nizzel George was inside, asleep on a couch. One of the bullets struck him in the upper back, and he died at North Memorial Medical Center.

While investigating the shooting of Nizzel, officers were told the house at 4501 Camden Avenue North had been hit by bullets the night before. Officers reported seeing about five bullet holes in a window glass.

According to a witness, Shannon said he was on the porch of 4501 Camden when the house was hit.
"Defendant was angry and believed people associated with 4515 Bryant Avenue North were responsible," said a Minneapolis Police Officer in the complaint.  "Defendant went to the residence and fired into the house with a handgun.  Defendant told the witness that he had made his peace with God and was sorry about the baby."

When interrogated by police, Shannon admitted being on the porch of 4501 Camden when it was shot up, according to the complaint.  He also said he knew who did that shooting, but refused to say who. When asked about the shooting of 4515 Bryant that killed Nizzel, Shannon denied being at the scene.

The name of the second teen charged has not been released.  In the complaint against Shannon, he's listed as "Codefendant" and a juvenile.  According to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, he is 15-years-old.

According to the complaint against Shannon, the string of events that led to Nizzel's death may have begun with the codefendant.

The day before 4501 Camden and 4515 Bryant were hit by gunfire, a witness told police of seeing the codefendant with other teens at a gas station convenience store in the neighborhood.  The witness told police the codefendant pointed a gun at two other teens.

Officers talked with the codefendant about the incident.

"Officers told him that they knew he had pointed a gun at some guys at the local convenience store the night before, which lead (sic) to the Camden address being shot up and the retaliatory shooting of the victim's home," said police in the complaint.  "The Codefendant initially denied his actions at the store, but later admitted that he 'upped the gun' at the guys who he had heard talking about how he was from the 'other side.'"

The codefendant also denied being part of the shooting that killed Nizzel. He has been charged as a juvenile. A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney said prosecutors will petition to have him tried as an adult.

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