Authorities looking for man charged with fatal shooting at Minneapolis gas station

The gunfire followed a brief exchange between the two men.

December 8, 2021 at 3:17PM
Authorities are looking for Decarlos D. Chopin, seen in this surveillance camera image. He’s charged with murder in connection with a shooting last week at a West Broadway gas station. (Minneapolis Police Department/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Authorities are looking for the man charged with fatally shooting another man at a north Minneapolis gas station last week.

Decarlos D. Chopin, 31, was charged Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree intentional murder in connection with killing Frederick M. Franklin, 45, on Dec. 1 at the Winner Gas station at the corner of West Broadway and N. Lyndale Avenue.

Chopin, of South St. Paul, remains at large, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said Franklin, who has no permanent address, was shot in the back.

Police said last week that the shooting may have been a random act.

According to the criminal complaint:

Gas station surveillance video showed Chopin in the driver's seat of his minivan at a gas pump, when a man walked by. The two exchanged words before Chopin stuck a handgun out the window and shot the other man.

Chopin drove off, leaving his victim on the ground with a gunshot wound to his torso. The man was declared dead at a nearby hospital.

Police say Chopin's vehicle is a Dodge Caravan. It has chrome door trim and five-spoke rims.

Chopin's criminal history includes numerous assault and domestic assault convictions, as well as a conviction for first-degree robbery.

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Paul Walsh

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Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.

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