David Lee, a 32-year-old Black or African American man, was fatally shot in the early morning hours of November 1, 2019, on the 1300 block of Davern Street in Saint Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood. Officers found Lee and a woman inside an SUV just after 2 a.m.; both had sustained gunshot wounds. Lee died of his injuries. The woman was taken to hospital with a leg wound.

Investigators say the shooting began after an encounter at the Broadway Pub and Grille in Minneapolis, where Lee, his wife, and a cousin had a tense exchange with another man. As Lee’s party left and drove the cousin home in Saint Paul, they were followed by a minivan. Multiple rounds were fired into the SUV; Lee was struck four times, including wounds to the head and chest. Despite her injury, Lee’s wife pressed the gas pedal with her hands, and the SUV crashed into two parked cars.

In January 2020, authorities arrested 25-year-old Darwin E. Anderson of White Bear Lake and charged him with second-degree murder and attempted murder. Investigators cited witness statements, surveillance video and cell phone location data linking Anderson to the bar, showing his minivan behind Lee’s SUV, and reporting he had said he was beefing with Lee and was going to get him. Anderson denied involvement upon arrest.