Man charged in Lake Street rail station stabbing death

A Minneapolis man was charged Wednesday with mur­der in the stab­bing of a home­less man last week­end at a south Minneapolis light-rail sta­tion.

Anthony C. Bowker, 25, was charged in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree murder in the death of Gerald W. Davis, 58, of St. Paul.

The stab­bing oc­cur­red around 1:30 p.m. Sat­ur­day at the Lake Street sta­tion after an argument between the two turned violent, according to police.

Bowk­er was arrested early Mon­day at Peo­ple Ser­ving Peo­ple, a home­less shel­ter in down­town Minneapolis. Bowker, who remains jailed, has admitted to investigators that he stabbed Davis, fled and got rid of the knife, according to the criminal complaint.

At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman called the slaying tragic and said, "There's absolutely no reason for it."

The complaint did not elaborate on a motive for the killing.

Da­vis was found at the base of the north sta­tion plat­form at Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue. He died that same day at the Hennepin County Medical Center.

According to the complaint:

Witnesses told police that the two men argued on the upper-level platform, with the Bowker "pounding on" Davis.

"We don't know what was said, but the hand gestures indicated it was not a friendly greeting," Freeman said.

Davis walked down to the ground level, and Bowker followed. Multiple witnesses said they saw three men yelling at Davis and following him down from the platform.

Authorities said Bowker was flanked by his father and brother, as well as a third unidentified man.

Video surveillance shows Davis waiting on the platform for a train when Bowker approached after appearing to be looking for Davis.

Bowker then pulled a switchblade and chased Davis around the glass-enclosed stairway bay and then grabbed his victim and stabbed him.

The video shows that it was Bowker who kicked Davis.

Video surveillance from about 15 minutes earlier showed Davis on Lake Street and speaking with the two men who were with Bowker in the station.

After Davis left and headed to the station, Bowker joined the others before they caught up to Davis from behind.