A north Minneapolis bar patron hit with pepper spray left the establishment angry, returned with a gun and fired into a crowd outside, fatally wounding a man in the head, according to charges.

Anthony E. Cannady, 47, of Brooklyn Center, was charged this week in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree murder and three counts of second-degree assault in connection with the shooting of Steven L. Fields, 42, on Sept. 7 in the parking lot of Cliff and Norm's bar in the 2000 block of Washington Avenue N.

Fields' father said that his son was outside smoking a cigarette when the gunfire erupted.

Fields' death came on a weekend when 10 people were shot in the city, four of them fatally.

Cannady was jailed five days later and remains held in lieu of $1.5 million bail ahead of a Wednesday court appearance.

State court records show that Cannady has a violent past dating back more than 20 years, with four convictions for fifth-degree assault, two for disorderly conduct, one each for illegal gun possession and domestic assault.

According to the charges:

Earlier in the evening, Cannady fought with another bar patron. The bouncer broke up the scuffle and targeted Cannady with pepper spray. Cannady threatened the bouncer as he left the bar.

Cannady returned with a gun about 11:45 p.m. and fired shots into a crowd in the parking lot. Fields was shot in the head and three others were also wounded. The bouncer was not shot.

For days afterward, Cannady told numerous people that he was the killer outside the bar, charges said.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482