A New Hope man was charged with second-degree murder Friday in connection with a fatal stabbing earlier this week at a Brooklyn Center apartment complex.

Demetrius Lamar Harris, 28, is accused of killing Antonio Levar Moore, 37, of St. Louis Park, on Tuesday as Moore was trying to protect his sister, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement.

"My thoughts today are with the victim's family, and especially his sister who he was protecting during this incident. We will not tolerate violence in our communities," Moriarty said. "I'm grateful to the Brooklyn Center Police Department for working quickly to respond to the scene, identify the person responsible, and apprehend him. We will now aggressively prosecute this case to hold Mr. Harris accountable."

According to the criminal complaint:

Moore's sister had been in a relationship with Harris and together they had a child. Harris went to the woman's apartment May 2 and was upset that she got a call from another man. The woman told police that she was cordial with Harris because of their baby, but they were not romantically involved.

Harris began yelling at her and punched her twice in the face. She told him to leave, but he refused to, so she called Moore for help. She threw Harris' stuff in the hallways and locked him out. When Moore arrived, the men got into a fight in the parking lot after Moore confronted Harris about hitting his sister.

She was looking down at her phone to call another brother and when she looked up, she saw Moore lying on the ground.

Harris ran away after telling her to check on Moore and call an ambulance. Officers found Moore unconscious with the stab wound. He was pronounced dead at North Memorial Health.

Police arrested Harris later that evening after a resident of a nearby apartment complex called to report an unwanted person. Several agencies tried searching for the suspect without success until the 911 caller alerted officers.

Harris is currently in custody. His public defender did not respond to a request for comment.

Staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report.