Brooklyn Park family waits for answers in son's shooting death

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - Family members say Syoka Siko - or "SK" - as he was called, loved shooting hoops. 

But now the athlete, who was on the roster when the Park Center High School basketball team won a state championship last season and had a 3.6 GPA, is gone.

"He was kind of a shy kid. Introverted. You think about Syoka, all these good childhood memories of raising him and you just start crying. So yeah, its been really, really rough," said Syoka's father Fred Voss.

Brooklyn Park Police say Siko was one of four people in a car in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 8400 block of Regent Avenue North on Friday night, when two people in masks approached the car and got into an altercation with the teens inside.

Someone opened fire but investigators say they don't know who.

Police say Siko and another 17-year-old were hit and the driver tried to take them to the hospital,  but he stopped on the ramp from I-94 to 53th Avenue North to call 9-1-1. 

Siko later died from his injuries at North Memorial Medical Center, while the other teen's gunshot wound wasn't life threatening.

"I miss him dearly. You wonder what could have been done so he doesn't get shot," said Siko's mother Alvera Voss. 

Siko's family says he had been battling depression and recently moved in with a family friend in Andover, where he attended Andover High School to get a change of scenery.

"I feel that I failed him. I'm supposed to be planning Syoka's graduation party. He would have been graduating this December, ahead of time," said his mother.

In the meantime, Siko's family is left wondering what could have happened if "SK's" fresh start hadn't been cut tragically short.

"He was in a rough patch. If he could have gotten through it, he really could have done something in life but he's not going to get a chance," said Siko's father.

Police arrested the 17-year-old driver and prosecutors have until noon on Tuesday to charge him.

A GoFundMe campaign has been started to help Siko's family pay for his funeral. If you'd like to help, click here.