By Erika Hernandez
Dec 10, 2023, 2:43 PM EST
Police reported that an employee of a Minneapolis, Minnesota grocery storedied after a customer hit him and impaled him in the torso with a golf club.
The 66-year-old employee was attacked Friday at Oak Grove Grocery, a small neighborhood store in a residential area near downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, by a 44-year-old suspect who is jailed on suspicion of murder.
Police responded to a call shortly before 1:00 p.m. and He found the victim behind the counter “with a golf club stuck in his torso”according to a Minneapolis police news release.
The employee, identified as Robert Skafte, died at a hospital.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara said witness information led police to an apartment building across the street, where the suspect barricaded himself inside for six hours. After lengthy negotiations, officers detained the man without incident.
Police are still investigating to determine what sparked the attack. At a news conference, cited by The Associate Press, O’Hara indicated that it appeared the suspect had picked up some items from the store to purchase and brought them to the counter.
“It seems like he then went behind the counter and then cHe began to attack and hit the individual behind the counter in a very grotesque manner.“O’Hara said.
“We will do everything we can to try to make sense of this, but it is horrible and absolutely meaningless,” O’Hara added.
Neighbors told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the employee was a longtime regular at the grocery store.
“We are devastated; We are heartbroken,” said Manuela Torres, who said she was a friend of the victim.
A memorial was set up outside the store adorned with candles, flowers and a photograph.
“We know this neighborhood is hurting tonight,” O’Hara said.
This was the homicide number 66 in Minneapolis so far in 2023, according to the Star Tribune database. It is also the fourth homicide in the past week.
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