Authorities and relatives of Tyrone Williams appealed to the public Wednesday to help in identifying who shot the well-known and respected community activist the previous afternoon on Minneapolis' North Side.
Officers found Williams, the brother of former City Council candidate Raeisha Williams, laying on the sidewalk near the corner of N. 8th and Elwood avenues, on Tuesday evening. He had been shot at least twice — in the chest and the lower body — and was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center, where doctors tried to revive him, authorities say.
Police said that they are trying to track down several vehicles that were seen leaving the scene shortly after gunfire broke out, but have not otherwise identified any suspects or a motive. Several detectives have been assigned to the case.
"May my brother rest in eternal peace. 4/3/18," Raeisha Williams posted on her Facebook page later Tuesday night, below an undated photograph of her brother holding a baby. Williams, who lost last fall to current Fifth Ward council member Jeremiah Ellison, later asked anyone with information about the shooting to come forward.
"He meant so much to me, our family, his children, and our community," she said in a statement posted on social media Wednesday.
One of his last public appearances was when he got up to speak at a community forum on public safety last week.
After proudly identifying himself as a member of an "third-generation Minneapolis black family," Williams lamented the lack of trust in law enforcement, drawing steady applause from the audience that included Mayor Jacob Frey and police Chief Medaria Arradondo.
"It's tiring, it's old, we need more action," he said, according to a video posted on North News' Facebook page. "I don't wanna waste no more time."
