A dispute over shared food and liquor on a South Minneapolis sidewalk ended with five gunshots and one man dead, according to charges filed against 49-year-old Danuell Lamont Love. Minneapolis police responded around 9:30 p.m. on September 2 to the intersection of Bryant Avenue South and West 22nd Street, where officers found a man dead with gunshot wounds to his head and torso. Love has been charged with one count of second-degree murder and is being held on $1,000,000 bail with no conditions of release.
According to court documents cited by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, Love told police the confrontation began after the victim commented about sharing food and not getting anything in return, even though Love said he had also shared liquor with him. The two argued and fought before the shooting, and Love said the victim would not let him pass on the sidewalk. Love told investigators the victim threatened him, allegedly saying, “I'll take your gun from you and shoot you,” and that the victim also threatened to kill him.
Love admitted to police that he shot the man and put the gun in the bushes, according to court documents. In the criminal complaint, Love reportedly said he was going to shoot the victim. Court records also indicate Love gave differing accounts of where he got the gun, a discrepancy that could complicate his defense as the case proceeds.
A Sidewalk Fight, a Retreat, Then a Return
Court filings reported by CBS Minnesota indicate that after the initial physical fight, Love ran away to his apartment before coming back to the scene. Prosecutors allege he then returned to the sidewalk where the confrontation had started. A witness told police that after hearing five to six gunshots, he saw Love walking southbound on the west sidewalk, pulling a black handgun from his waistband and tossing it into a bush outside a nearby address, per the same court filings.
Police found five casings at the scene and, with the witness's help, recovered the black handgun from the bushes. Love was taken into custody and is currently held at the Hennepin County Adult Correctional Facility. His next court hearing, an omnibus hearing, is scheduled for September 30.
Minnesota's Duty to Retreat Complicates Any Self-Defense Claim
Love's account of leaving the sidewalk for his apartment before returning could weigh heavily against any self-defense argument. Minnesota case law and statutory standards impose what's known as a duty to retreat on people in public places, requiring someone to avoid or retreat from a threat if reasonably possible before resorting to deadly force, according to MPR News. The Minnesota Supreme Court has reaffirmed that this standard applies specifically to confrontations that unfold in public.
Under Minnesota Statutes § 609.19, subdivision 1(1), second-degree murder with intent but without premeditation carries a maximum sentence of up to 40 years in prison, distinguishing it from premeditated first-degree murder under state law.
A Violent Night Across South Minneapolis
The Bryant Avenue South shooting occurred just hours after a separate mass shooting at Shoreline Plaza near Loring Park left two dead and six wounded, according to MinneapoliMedia. Minneapolis police were responding to both major shooting incidents within hours of each other that night, underscoring the pressure officers were under while processing the Bryant Avenue scene.
The intersection sits in Minneapolis's Lowry Hill East neighborhood, commonly known as The Wedge, a dense residential community wedged between the Hennepin and Lyndale avenue commercial corridors, according to MPLS With Love. The area has seen other violent incidents in recent months, including an August shooting near Hennepin Avenue and West 29th Street that Hoodline reported was the third Uptown shooting in a month, and a June fatal shooting in the Wedge Co-op parking lot on Lyndale Avenue South that led to murder charges against a teenage suspect.
Citywide Homicides Down, but Local Concerns Persist
The shooting comes even as Minneapolis has seen an overall decline in violent crime. The Minneapolis Police Department recorded 64 homicides in 2025, down from 77 in 2024, and achieved an 80 percent homicide clearance rate, its highest in recent history, per MPR News. Mid-2026 reporting from KARE 11 found homicides had dropped roughly 30 percent compared to the same period in 2025.
Still, the sporadic gun violence along the Lowry Hill East commercial corridors this summer suggests that citywide trends haven't fully eased concerns in the neighborhood itself. Love remains in custody as the case moves toward his September 30 hearing.
