A family mourns its brothers who were killed in north Minneapolis
Dozens gathered at a vigil in north Minneapolis on Monday to remember two brothers who were shot and killed last week.
According to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, 23-year-old Akwame Stewart and 14-year-old Xavier Barnett were both murdered by their cousin.
Jerry McAfee, pastor of New Salem Missionary Baptist Church, offered a prayer before the group released the balloons into the sky.
“It hurts,” said their sister, DeAsia Freeman. “It will take a long journey to heal my family.”
The family is still grieving for their other brother, Derrell Freeman, who was shot and killed in 2023, Freeman said.
“We didn’t even mourn my older brother,” she said. “And now my other two brothers are gone. It’s hard.”
Freeman described Stewart as funny and creative.
“He loved to draw and he used to rap,” she said. “He was the best uncle. He loved his nieces and nephews – he was like a father to them. He would always ask: ‘Are you coming in for a plate?’ I’ll miss it all.”
She said Xavier, a ninth-grader, was focused on school and looked up to his older siblings.
“I will miss him calling me about his good grades,” Freeman said. “He was a great student.”
She said her one-year-old son is still searching for his uncles.
Reverend McAfee, who visited the family after Derrell Freeman was killed, came at the family’s request.
“Our society has been through this for so long that it’s almost become callous, which is sad,” McAfee said. “This abnormality is normal.”
BCA investigators say the cousin who committed last week’s shooting — Eddie Duncan — He was shot and killed By three Brooklyn Center police officers about half an hour later.
After speaking with relatives of the victims last week, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara described the shooting as an accident "An unimaginable loss" For family.
“Pain is at fault,” McAfee said. “Hurturing people hurting people. Hurting people hurting people. This is nothing new, and this is sad.”
Duncan was released on February 23 from prison on bail after previously being arrested on warrants including evading police and possessing a firearm with a key that turns it into a machine gun.
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