A Minnesota man was shot in the neck while he was cleaning his yard, after a 54-year-old neighbor warned him not to stay on the property amid “racially charged threats” for nearly a year. Don’t touch a specific tree.
Surveillance footage of the shooting showed Davis Moturi pruning a tree outside his Minneapolis home when he was shot in broad daylight.
Police alleged that Moturi’s neighbor, John Sawak, pulled the trigger after months of rising tensions between the neighbors.
“The bullet went through my neck and back to my spinal cord,” Moturi said. told KARE 11,
A criminal complaint obtained by CNN, Moturi, who is Black, claimed his white neighbor used “racially charged language” in October 2023 and called him a “black bastard” in May.
Moturi called the police to report at least 19 incidents of threats, hate speech and harassment allegedly by Savchak but nothing was done.
Moturi told police that his neighbor had threatened him that “he would be shot if he touched a particular tree.” While Moturi was cutting that tree, Shokaik allegedly shot the neighbor from the open window of his upper floor.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara acknowledged that his department “failed” to prevent the shooting and agreed that officers should have responded much sooner before Moturi was shot on October 23, the outlet said.
Chief O’Hara admitted, “We failed this hunt 100%.”
Chief O’Hara claims that police knew Sawak had mental health issues and tried to arrest the alleged gunman for at least six months.
“We’re trying to safely detain this individual, which means getting him out of the house when he’s not in possession of a gun or any other weapon,” Chief O’Hara said.
On October 28, a SWAT team and special tactics unit broke the windows of the accused shooter’s home after a behavioral threats team, a psychiatrist, and his family members failed to get him out of his home.
When police entered the house, the informant surrendered and was taken into custody.
Savachak faces several charges including attempt to murder, stalking and harassment.
The community turned out at a Minneapolis City Council meeting on Halloween to share their outrage over the police response.
The Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution requesting the city auditor to conduct an independent review of the city’s involvement and delayed response to the attack.
“We have a responsibility to find out how and why this mistake occurred and then hold full accountability for any individual actors or city policies that allowed it to happen so that it is not repeated,” said Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wansley. ” Meeting on 31st October.
Prosecutors say race played a role in the crime.
“I don’t call the police for fun. I call because I want my family to be safe,” Moturi told KARE 11 from his hospital bed.
A spokesperson for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, “The safety of our residents is the top priority and any type of violence or hate speech is completely unacceptable and inconsistent with who we are as a community.” Wrote in a statement.
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