Friend: Mpls. stabbing ends dreams of proud college-bound American Indian

Minneapolis police responding to a robbery call about 1:40 a.m. near Hiawatha Ave. S. and 28th St. E. found a young man seriously injured nearby.

By PAUL WALSH and ABBY SIMONS, Star Tribune

Last update: November 8, 2009 - 2:17 PM

College-bound teenager Tim Jackson was fatally stabbed early Saturday in south Minneapolis, a family friend said, bringing a bloody end to the dreams of a proud American Indian.

The teenager was found with wounds about 1:40 a.m. after police were called to E. 28th Street and Hiawatha Avenue S. on a report of a robbery, police said.

No suspects have been arrested, and police are asking citizens to step forward with information. Police have yet to connect the robbery with the killing.

Jackson, a Minneapolis South High School senior, "had just found out that he had gotten in" to Haskell Indian Nations University, a national center for Indian education, research and cultural preservation in Lawrence, Kan. "It's a big deal when one of us gets out," Stacie Mooney said.

"He enjoyed a lot of different things, especially around his culture," said Mooney, who at times over the years would care for Jackson, a resident of the Little Earth of United Community in Minneapolis. "Being an Indian meant a lot to him."

"He Sun Danced; he was pierced," she said. "Every year they have a canoe race at Cass Lake, and he's always participated in that."

Jackson was taken by ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died.

While the county medical examiner has yet to release any information about the death, Mooney said Jackson was stabbed numerous times.

"As far as we know, he was alone," she said.

Jackson was one of five children in his family and had to overcome many difficulties that come with being a young American Indian in south Minneapolis, she said. "He cared a lot for his family, and when his family has needed him, he's had to grow up and step up."

The area where he was found is largely industrial, bordered to the east by Hiawatha Avenue and the Metro Transit light-rail line and to the south by the ReUse Center, where an adjacent lot is filled with tall grass. To the north is Smiley's Clinic, operated by the University of Minnesota. Several paths from the Midtown Greenway wind through the area, traversed by hundreds of bicyclists on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Police Sgt. William Palmer said the victim was not riding a bicycle and it was unclear whether he might have been walking on the Greenway when he was fatally injured.

Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Line at 612-692-TIPS (8477).

pwalsh@startribune.com • 612-673-4482 • asimons@startribune.com • 612-673-4921

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