MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A family is in mourning the death of a 22-year-old man who was gunned down as he went to deliver food to a family friend.
A memorial is now set up where Jody Patzner, Jr. was shot and killed along the 3500 block of Fremont Avenue North – just a few blocks from his home.
“We waited for him to come back and he didn’t come back,” says family friend, Jamie Nunn.
“I knew in my heart, because he doesn’t go away for longer than 10 minutes,” says Patzner’s stepmother, Tara Hesser.
On Monday night, Patzner, Jr. left the house at around 8:30 pm. At 8:40 p.m., the family got a call from the neighbor that Jody never arrived.
When they stepped outside, they saw flashing lights. Then, Patzner’s girlfriend says they waited for two hours to hear the news they dreaded from Minneapolis Police.
“I’ve been crying ever since I found out,” said girlfriend, Danielle Bergerson.
Now, they just want to know why their loved one was taken so soon.
“They’re saying that it was over his bike. Some are saying it’s a gang initiation. I don’t know, I just want justice,” said Hesser.
The family doesn’t plan to wait for answers in the same neighborhood where their son died.
“I’m ready to move. This is it. I gave my notice today. I can’t live here anymore,” said Hesser.
Police are not commenting on a motive, but say it’s still an active investigation.
If you have any information, you are asked to call police.
This is the fourth homicide in Minneapolis this year and is the third committed on the north side.
