Bruce Brown, 47, of northeast Minneapolis was shot to death on August 9, 2016, after an escalating dispute with his neighbor, 61-year-old Edward Holzinger, over a lawnmower Brown had borrowed and allegedly returned damaged. The confrontation culminated the evening of a family barbecue at Brown’s home; after Brown called out to Holzinger, Holzinger invited him over. Despite family members urging Brown not to, he went to Holzinger’s front porch, where Holzinger, who had been drinking and was armed with a 9mm handgun, shot Brown twice in the chest. Brown’s niece attempted first aid but he died at the scene.

Holzinger was arrested immediately and charged with second-degree murder. He reportedly said that Brown deserved it and referenced an insult, then acknowledged he expected to go to jail. No additional unresolved factual questions are known from the report. Did anyone in the neighborhood witness the interaction between the two men that night?