Woman fatally shot in pickup truck identified

Authorities have identified the woman who was killed in a shooting that occurred in a pickup truck in Brooklyn Center.

Gabrielle A. Johnson, 23, of Duluth, was shot in the head on Nov. 11 near the intersection of N. 56th and Girard avenues, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said Sunday night.

Julius M. Smith, 24, of Brooklyn Center, was charged in District Court on Nov. 15 with one count of second-degree manslaughter. Smith remains jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail ahead of a Dec. 16 court appearance.

Smith's criminal history in Minnesota includes convictions for domestic assault, domestic abuse and theft.

According to the criminal complaint:

Police arrived and located the pickup, which had a bullet hole in the front windshield. Johnson was being treated by paramedics for a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Witnesses said Smith was sitting behind Johnson in the pickup. Two other people in the vehicle said Smith shot the woman, and they "generally described the shooting as an accident," the complaint said.

Smith allegedly said the pickup's occupants were robbed by two men with a gun, and that he swatted at the weapon, causing it to discharge. However, the complaint said surveillance video from the scene backed the witnesses' accounts.