Mom shot at by Tekle Sundberg expresses outrage; family says both incidents deserve attention
What started as a rally for a man shot and killed by Minneapolis Police quickly took a turn after the mother of two nearly hit by bullets while inside her apartment showed up to share her story on Saturday afternoon.
Mom shot at by Tekle Sundberg expresses outrage; family says both incidents deserve attention
By Mary McGuirePublished July 16, 2022 8:21PM
Updated 8:50PM
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 9
Emotions run high at protest for Tekle Sundberg, as mother who was shot at expresses outrage
What started as a rally for a man shot and killed by Minneapolis Police quickly took a turn after the mother of two nearly hit by bullets while inside her apartment showed up to share her story on Saturday afternoon.MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (FOX 9) - What started as a rally for a man shot and killed by Minneapolis Police quickly took a turn after the mother of two nearly hit by bullets while inside her apartment showed up to share her story on Saturday afternoon.
Protesters and activists are demanding that body cam footage of Sundberg’s shooting be released, as well as why police were unable to apprehend him while he was still alive. Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Jeff Storms additionally argued that Sundberg’s parents were "highly restricted" in communicating with their son.
Police said more than 50 officers were involved in the standoff and they are reviewing hundreds of hours worth of audio and video of the incident. Body cam footage is expected to be released to the family early this week, the Star Tribune reported.
Arabella Yarbrough was cooking food for her children Wednesday night when she says Tekle Sundberg fired bullets into their home, nearly hitting them. Police responded and helped Yarbrough escape when according to police, Sundberg also fired at officers. That led to a six-hour standoff outside the building that lasted until MPD snipers killed the 20-year-old early the next morning.
"I literally had five minutes to live while he had six hours to choose life or death. The police stated they did not want to kill him," Yarbrough told Fox 9.
She confronted
activists at a protest for Sundberg and against police violence on Saturday. A Fox 9 news crew was at the scene.
Minneapolis police spokesman officer Garrett Parten said the fatal shots were fired around 4:30 a.m. following six hours of negotiating with the man, who had barricaded himself inside an apartment on the 900 block of 21st and East Franklin Avenues in the Seward neighborhood.
According to a search warrant, while officers were attempting to evacuate the building, "officers started taking fire," prompting them to leave the building and call the Minneapolis SWAT Team. When SWAT arrived, two people set up on a roof of a nearby apartment building. "At some point during the standoff, the two snipers shot the male subject," the search warrant reads. On Saturday, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner said Sundberg died from multiple gunshot wounds.
Video: Mom shot at by Tekle Sundberg interrupts rally., expresses outrage at protesters
What started as a rally for a man shot and killed by Minneapolis Police quickly took a turn after Arabella Yarbrough, the mother of two nearly hit by bullets while inside her apartment, showed up to share her story on Saturday afternoon.For Yarbrough, Sundberg’s case is different from those of other well-known Black people killed by police.
"That man was armed. George Floyd was not armed. Breonna Taylor was not armed. Amir Locke he was armed and he had his own guns but they came into his home while he's licensed to carry and killed him. He did not...fire. This man intentionally tried to kill us," said Yarbrough.
"My kids have to deal with this and probably have a mental illness now because they almost lost their lives. There’s bullet holes in my kitchen because he sat in the f–ing hallway watching me move," she said while confronting the protesters. "He tried to kill me in front of my kids."
"I have Black children; I am a woman of color!" Foss-Yarbrough, who is of Black, white and Native descent according to the star Tribune, yelled at the demonstrators. "If I would have lost my life, would you guys do this for me?"
"Yes, ma’am," a lead organizer for Black Lives Matter Minnesota Trahern Crews responded to Foss-Yarbrough at the demonstration.
Sundberg’s father, Mark Sundberg, also approached the mother of two and said, "I am so sorry," according to the Star Tribune.
"This is not OK," she responded
Both Yarbrough and Sundberg's family say things could have ended differently if he was able to get the mental health support he needed. His parents, Cindy and Mark Sundberg, adopted Tekle from Ethiopia when he was just four years old.
"My heart goes out to that woman (Yarbrough). She went through a very traumatic event with those bullets coming through her house," said Mark Sundberg.
Along with their attorney, they empathized with the terror Yarbrough felt that night, but say their son should still be here.
Family of man killed by Minneapolis police say he was in crisis
Tekle Sundberg's family and supporters rallied Saturday and criticized Minneapolis police for fatally shooting him Thursday.
sahanjournal.com
Sundberg’s family said Saturday that he preferred to go by Tekle Sundberg, not the name–Andrew Tekle Sundberg–that police released last week.
Sundberg’s sister, Kesley Sundberg, said Saturday that her brother was having a mental health crisis at the time. Sundberg was adopted from Ethiopia when he was 4, and was one of eight children in the Sundberg family, which includes biological children and several adopted children.
"It's two different incidents. It's the shots going through her (wall) and what we are here for, when Tekle was shot," said Mark Sundberg
"We can do both things. We can feel terribly for this woman, but also remember that Tekle should be here with us and he should be alive and we can ask the Minneapolis Police Department to do better," said the Sundberg family attorney, Jeff Storms.
The Minneapolis City Attorney's Office is in the process of reviewing the body camera footage of the fatal encounter. It will be shown to the family first before it is released to the public.
A GoFundMe page has been established to help Yarbrough.
Meanwhile, the BCA is asking anyone who has pictures, video or audio recordings of the incident—to share them with investigators via this website.
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