Mom shot at by Tekle Sundberg expresses outrage; family says both incidents deserve attention

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (FOX 9) - What started as a rally for a man shot and killed by Minneapolis Police quickly took a turn after the mother of two nearly hit by bullets while inside her apartment showed up to share her story on Saturday afternoon. 

Arabella Yarbrough was cooking food for her children Wednesday night when she says Tekle Sundberg fired bullets into their home, nearly hitting them. Police responded and helped Yarbrough escape when according to police, Sundberg also fired at officers. That led to a six-hour standoff outside the building that lasted until MPD snipers killed the 20-year-old early the next morning.  

"I literally had five minutes to live while he had six hours to choose life or death. The police stated they did not want to kill him," Yarbrough told Fox 9.  

She confronted activists at a protest for Sundberg and against police violence on Saturday. A Fox 9 news crew was at the scene.

For Yarbrough, Sundberg’s case is different from those of other well-known Black people killed by police. 

"That man was armed. George Floyd was not armed. Breonna Taylor was not armed. Amir Locke he was armed and he had his own guns but they came into his home while he's licensed to carry and killed him. He did not...fire. This man intentionally tried to kill us," said Yarbrough. 

Both Yarbrough and Sundberg's family say things could have ended differently if he was able to get the mental health support he needed. His parents, Cindy and Mark Sundberg, adopted Tekle from Ethiopia when he was just four years old. 

"My heart goes out to that woman (Yarbrough). She went through a very traumatic event with those bullets coming through her house," said Mark Sundberg. 

Along with their attorney, they empathized with the terror Yarbrough felt that night, but say their son should still be here. 

"It's two different incidents. It's the shots going through her (wall) and what we are here for, when Tekle was shot," said Mark Sundberg  

"We can do both things. We can feel terribly for this woman, but also remember that Tekle should be here with us and he should be alive and we can ask the Minneapolis Police Department to do better," said the Sundberg family attorney, Jeff Storms. 

The Minneapolis City Attorney's Office is in the process of reviewing the body camera footage of the fatal encounter. It will be shown to the family first before it is released to the public.

A GoFundMe page has been established to help Yarbrough. At the same time, a fundraiser has been created for Sundberg's family.  

Meanwhile, the BCA is asking anyone who has pictures, video or audio recordings of the incident—to share them with investigators via this website.