Marcus Tyrone Hunter was a 31-year-old Black man from St. Louis Park, Minnesota, who worked as a carpenter. He was a father to three children, and his loved ones remember a son who is dearly missed. Marcus had a criminal record that included felony convictions for drug possession in 2006 and 2007, and he was facing new drug charges at the time of his death. Despite his past, he was a member of a family and community that was left searching for answers after his life was cut short by violence.
On the afternoon of Monday, April 13, 2015, Minneapolis Police officers responded to a call at approximately 2:10 p.m. in the Willard-Hay neighborhood of North Minneapolis. The report concerned a man who was seen slumped over inside a vehicle on the 2300 block of Russell Avenue North. When police and emergency personnel arrived at the scene, they found Marcus unresponsive in the car. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy and officially identified the victim as Marcus Tyrone Hunter two days later. The cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound to the chest, and his death was ruled a homicide. Investigators with the Minneapolis Police Department immediately began working the case, but details about the circumstances leading up to the shooting were not publicly released. It remains unclear what Marcus was doing in that neighborhood or who he was with before he was killed.
The investigation into Marcus's murder has been ongoing for years, but no suspects have been publicly identified, and no arrests have been made. The case quickly went cold, leaving his family without justice or closure. The Minneapolis Police Department has periodically asked for the public's help, urging anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it might seem, to come forward. The hours leading up to the discovery of his body are of particular interest to investigators, who hope to piece together a timeline of his final day.
The killing of Marcus Hunter was one of several homicides that occurred in Minneapolis during a violent spring in 2015. His death came just two days after a woman was found shot to death in a separate incident in south Minneapolis. The persistent violence left communities on edge and law enforcement grappling with a series of unsolved cases. For the families of victims like Marcus, the passage of time does not diminish the pain of their loss or the longing for answers.
As of April 2015, the Minneapolis Police Department was actively seeking a suspect in the fatal shooting. The case remains open and unsolved. Authorities continue to encourage anyone with information about the murder of Marcus Tyrone Hunter to contact the Minneapolis Police Department's tip line at (612) 692-8477. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward if their information leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.