No suspects months after Gulf War Navy veteran fatally attacked on Nicollet Mall
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minneapolis police have been unable to identify any suspects in the brutal attack on a man at Nicollet Mall.
On Thursday, FOX 9 is hearing from family members of the victim, who was identified this week as 53-year-old James Quigley.
The attack happened in May, and Quigley died 10 days later. Recently, the medical examiner's report was released, confirming he died from blunt force trauma to the head.
Quigley loved his family, friends, and country. A Gulf War Navy veteran, he received full honors at his Ft. Snelling funeral just a couple of days ago.
"You felt so close to him. If you talked to his family or friends, he has a huge circle of friends. Everyone felt so close to him," said Quigley's sister Michelle Swanson.
On May 4, just after midnight, Quigley had been at First Ave with some friends for a concert. The group went back to their hotel, but Quigley went for a drink. It’s believed he was likely walking along Nicollet Avenue to catch an Uber when he was assaulted just a few feet away from a bus shelter. Swanson went to the hospital right away.
"There was just like a boot print on his face. His neck was, I don’t know if he was strangled, if this person strangled him or what they did," Swanson said.
No one knows for sure what happened other than he was brutally attacked, but there is some video of the incident. There is no suspect in custody, but Swanson believes Minneapolis detectives are doing all they can. However, she is frustrated that the Minneapolis City Council put a ban on facial recognition technology because she believes it could help in her brother’s case.
"If this person had any identity, meaning social media, a driver’s license, a state ID, a passport, they’re gonna show up in these databases," Swanson added.
Quigley would call Swanson every Thursday, and the two would talk for hours.
"He deserves justice. All he was doing was a night out with friends to go listen to music downtown. He shouldn’t have had his life beaten out of him," Swanson said.