A 17-year-old Black girl named Zoey Kpanlin was found with a life-threatening gunshot wound the evening of July 1, 2025, in the 7000 block of Lakeland Avenue North in Brooklyn Park. First responders gave aid and she was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died just days before her 18th birthday. Her death was ruled a homicide and prompted a multi-agency search for the person responsible.

Investigators identified 25-year-old Melchizedek Kpaan of Maple Grove as the primary suspect. Court filings say surveillance footage captured Kpaan and Kpanlin together in a parking lot shortly before the shooting and that the victim’s cellphone showed they had been communicating beforehand. The complaint alleges footage shows Kpaan throwing a backpack at Kpanlin, then shooting her; she ran a short distance, collapsed, and made a 911 call. Kpaan was seen fleeing and discarding a sweater that was later recovered. He was later located in North Ridgeville, Ohio, and booked there pending extradition to Minnesota on second-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm charges.

Does anyone have information about Zoey’s movements that evening, or about the parking lot on Lakeland Avenue North?