Charges: Man fatally shot person who slapped him during argument
A north Minneapolis man is facing murder charges after he fatally shot a man who slapped him during an argument, court documents say.
Dedric Maurice Willis, 26, faces second-degree murder charges for the killing of 37-year-old Theodore Collins.
The shooting was reported at about 8:30 a.m. on April 29. Minneapolis Police officers were sent to a home on the 2400 block of Emerson Avenue North. Outside, they found Collins suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso.
Witnesses advised officers that Collins had come to the home that day and confronted the mother of his children about an issue involving their child. When Collins arrived, Willis and the woman were seen outside arguing.
Collins and Willis then got into an argument, eventually escalating to the point that Collins slapped Willis in the face. According to the complaint, Willis then took out a handgun and shot Collins with a single shot.
Collins died at North Memorial Medical Center that same morning.
Two women then pulled up in an SUV, and one woman, later identified to be Collins' girlfriend, exited the vehicle with a handgun and fired shots at Willis as he fled the scene.
Police found Willis soon after. Willis told officers after he was detained that he was using "self-defense" after he was slapped in the face.
Willis is currently in custody with bond set at $1 million. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
