Charges: Rift over gun led to fatal shooting outside Minneapolis funeral

A dispute between friends led to a fatal shooting outside a funeral at a north Minneapolis church in May, according to murder charges.

Kevin L. Mason, 26, of St. Paul, was charged Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree intentional murder and illegal weapons possession in connection with the June 11 shooting of Dontevius A. Catchings, 29, of Minneapolis.

Authorities have not been able to locate Mason. The charges against him say he "deleted his Facebook page and left the state."

The gunfire took place just after the funeral Christopher R. Jones Jr., 24, of Brooklyn Park, one of two men killed outside a nightclub in downtown Minneapolis on May 22.

Authorities said they believe Catchings, Mason and Jones were all part of the same street gang.

According to the charges against Mason, based on several witnesses accounts:

Officers were positioned near Jones' funeral at Shiloh Temple in the 1200 block of West Broadway because they believed that gang members were attending the service, who allegedly belonged to that gang.

The gunfire sent officers racing to the scene, where they found Catchings. Emergency responders took him to North Memorial Health Hospital, where he later died.

One funeral attendee told authorities that Mason and Catchings were longtime friends, but they got into a fistfight over Mason refusing to return a gun to Catchings.

After the fight, Catchings started to walk away, the witness said.

Mason, blood on his face, "popped up to his feet, unexpectedly pulled out a handgun from his pants ... moved toward [Catchings] and began shooting repeatedly," the charges read, based on a funeral attendee's account.

Another attendee said Mason had been taunting Catchings on social media about having the gun.

A second person, described as "a companion" of Catchings, was treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound to the hand.

At the time of the shooting, Mason had a felony fleeing police charge pending in Hennepin County. He had been charged and convicted of armed robbery three times in the county in 2013.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482