18-year-old arrested in connection to fatal shooting of teen in Brooklyn Park

An 18-year-old has been arrested in connection to a shooting that killed a 16-year-old boy in Brooklyn Park on Aug. 17. 

The Brooklyn Park Police Department says it obtained an arrest warrant for the suspect and he was arrested at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 23, after he was found in a vehicle in Minneapolis. 

He was armed with a handgun and was taken into custody without incident. Police say Brooklyn Park officers, the Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force, Hennepin County SWAT and Minneapolis SWAT worked together to arrest the suspect. 

The 18-year-old is suspected in the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Varney Gbelly Kennedy Jr. on Aug. 17 outside the African Market, 5700 Brookdale Drive N, in Brooklyn Park. He died of multiple gunshot wounds at the hospital at 4:30 p.m., the medical examiner said.

Brooklyn Park police responded to the African Market at 3:42 p.m., where officers found Kennedy with multiple gunshot wounds, a news release said.

Police believe the suspect walked up to a parked car and shot the victim while he was sitting in his vehicle, police said. The motive for the shooting is unclear.

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At a memorial for Kennedy the night he was killed, police said shooting broke out involving a large group of people.

Police initially reported Kennedy as being a 17-year-old boy. The medical examiner's office says he was 16. 

Note: The details provided in this story are based on the police’s latest version of events, and may be subject to change.