Murder charge filed in fatal shooting at north Minneapolis gas station

A South St. Paul man has been charged with murder in connection with a fatal shooting last week at a north Minneapolis gas station.

According to a warrant filed Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court, Decarlos Deion Chopin, 31, is charged with one count of second-degree intentional murder after a man was shot and killed Wednesday night at Winner Gas.

Officers responded to a ShotSpotter activation around 7:40 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of North Lyndale and West Broadway avenues and found a victim laying on the ground, the warrant states. The victim had been shot in the chest and there was a shell casing near his clothes. The man was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Surveillance footage recorded at the gas station shows the suspect pulling up to the business and parking at a gas pump. At one point, the victim is seen walking past the suspect’s vehicle. The two are seen talking to each other before the suspect points a gun through the driver’s side window, shoots the victim once and drives off, the warrant states.

Police say they were able to use the security footage to identify the suspect as Chopin.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner identified the victim as 45-year-old Frederick Montgomery Franklin Wednesday.

Minneapolis police say he was the city’s 90th homicide victim this year.

Chopin is not currently in custody, and a nationwide warrant has been issued for his arrest. He is believed to pose "a significant risk to public safety."

A judge has set Chopin’s bail at $1 million once he is arrested.