MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The investigation into Saturday night’s fatal shooting aboard a Green Line train has moved forward significantly as police have identified the victim and say an arrest could be close.
Minneapolis police have identified the man killed as 36-year-old Joseph Denny Nezperce of South St. Paul.
According to investigators, Nezperce was aboard an eastbound Green Line train traveling from Stadium Village in Minneapolis toward Saint Paul when he was shot shortly after 9 p.m. on Saturday night.
The train stopped at Westgate Station, where emergency personnel attempted to save him before he was pronounced dead at the scene. His death is being investigated as a homicide.
The suspected shooter left the train shortly after the gunfire, fleeing into the night.
Now investigators have disclosed an important development: surveillance cameras captured the person police believe was responsible.
Metro Transit police say investigators are zeroing in on a suspect and expressed confidence that the person will be identified, located and arrested. The images give detectives a critical lead they did not have when the case first broke.
No arrest had been publicly announced as of Tuesday morning, but police say progress is being made.
The development substantially advances the case from MinneapoliMedia’s initial report, when authorities had confirmed the homicide and the suspect’s departure from the train but had disclosed little about the evidence available to investigators.
Following the killing, Metro Transit has increased the presence of police officers and security personnel aboard Green Line trains and at stations in an effort to reassure riders and prevent further violence.
Police have not publicly identified the suspected shooter or disclosed a motive for the shooting.
For now, the investigation remains open and active. But investigators possess something they had not publicly revealed when the homicide was first reported: images of the person they believe killed Joseph Denny Nezperce — and confidence that an arrest is near.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Metro Transit Police or the Minneapolis Police Department.
Our deepest condolences go out to the family, friends, and loved ones of Joseph Denny Nezperce.
Rest in Peace, Joseph.
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