Man charged with manslaughter in shooting death nearly 16 months ago in Brooklyn Park

A 22-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter in connection with a shooting of a resident in his Brooklyn Park home nearly 16 months ago.

Marlon J. White of Brooklyn Park was charged Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court with two counts of second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of Khalib K. Blunt, 20, on Sept. 28, 2022, at a house in the 7800 block of N. Tessman Drive.

White was charged by summons and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 15. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

Police submitted a case for charging considerations to prosecutors two days after Blunt was shot. The County Attorney’s Office has been asked to explain why 1 ¼ years passed before charges were filed.

According to the charges and police:

A caller to 911 said a friend of his had been shot. Police arrived to find Blunt down in the entry, where someone was doing chest compressions on him. Blunt died soon afterward at North Memorial Health Hospital from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Officers questioned White at the scene about the gun’s location. At first, he denied knowing where the gun was but then said he put the weapon in his car parked nearby. An officer found the handgun under the driver’s seat.

White told police he was standing next to Blunt in the living room, heard what he believed to be a gunshot and saw Blunt collapse near the front door. White said he grabbed the gun off the couch, along with his 2-year-old son and put the gun in his car, then went back inside to help Blunt.

A witness told police he had gone to Blunt’s house that evening, and White and his son were there. They were sitting on a couch smoking marijuana and watching a movie when he heard a gunshot and saw Blunt get up and take off toward the steps, where he performed CPR on Blunt. He said he never saw a gun that evening and didn’t know where it came from.

Upon further questioning, White said he had his gun with him but placed it under the couch and was on a FaceTime call with another friend when he heard a gunshot, grabbed his son and noticed his gun was on the couch. He said he didn’t know how it ended up out from under the couch.

The next day a witness told police he was on a FaceTime call with White and heard what sounded like a gunshot. He said White started to cry and began to yell “What happened?” and heard a child screaming, and heard White say “Sincere just shot him.” The phone then disconnected before the witness arrived to Blunt’s house five minutes later. Charges do not hint at the identity of “Sincere.”

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled Blunt’s death was caused by a single gunshot wound to the chest, and there was no evidence that it was self-inflicted.