Arrest in fatal shooting of Minneapolis grandmother Birdell Beeks

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Minneapolis police have arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting of an innocent grandmother in north Minneapolis last May.

Birdell Beeks, 58, was killed by stray gunfire while in a minivan with her 16-year-old granddaughter at the intersection of 21st Avenue N. and Penn Avenue N. on May 26.

At a press conference on Monday, Minneapolis police announced a man has been charged with murder in connection with the shooting and booked him into the Hennepin County Jail. 

The shooting

Beeks was at a stoplight at 21st Avenue N. and Penn Avenue N. when her granddaughter spotted a man with a gun.

“She said, ‘Nanny back up, Nanny back up. Hurry back up,’” recalls Beeks’ daughter and the girl’s mother Sa’lesha Beeks. “She looked over and she said, ‘baby they got me’ and passed out.”

Police say Beeks was the innocent victim of a bullet not intended for her.