Teen Arrested for Fatally Shooting Minnesota Hockey Coach During Confrontation

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Authorities charged teenager suspected of fatally shooting Minnesota hockey coach
Police said that the incident happened when the victim stumbled upon the suspect trying to steal his wife's car
Officials charged the suspect with second-degree murder for the death of 44-year-old Michael Brasel

Authorities have arrested and charged the teenager responsible for fatally shooting a Minnesota hockey coach who confronted the suspect who was allegedly trying to steal his wife's car.

The suspect in the crime was found after cell phone data linked him to the crime that led to the victim's death earlier this month in St. Paul. Officials have charged the initially unidentified 17-year-old suspect with second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Michael Brasel.

Minnesota Hockey Coach Fatally Shot

Police said that the victim could only stumble upon a burglary-in-progress before being killed by the suspect. As per the New York Post, the 44-year-old youth hockey coach walked out early on May 6 only to see the teenager rummaging through the family car.

The son of the victim, who was inside the house at the time of the shooting, said that he heard his father yell, "What are you doing?" After speaking those words, he told police that he immediately heard gunshots.

When law enforcement personnel arrived at the scene, they found the victim with several bullet wounds. Authorities later added that Brasel died at Hennepin County Medical Center while being treated for his injuries.

Witnesses said they observed a black car with tinted windows with loud exhaust fleeing the scene and heading west. The vehicle hit a curb roughly a mile-and-a-half away, causing the front bumper to be knocked off.

Police officials used the bumper and license plate to tie the vehicle to two prior police stops a few weeks before Brasel's murder. Law enforcement personnel stopped the victim in St. Paul and Savage, but no reason was stated for the stops, according to CBS News.

Teenage Suspect Arrested and Charged

Official documents stated that the teenager was driving the vehicle at both times, and investigators noted that they connected the suspect and his cell phone. A search warrant was later executed, which showed the location data that tied him to Chilcombe Avenue at the time of the shooting.

Police arrested the teenage suspect on Wednesday inside his home in St. Paul, where he initially tried to flee from law enforcement personnel but was quickly apprehended. Documents noted that when officers attempted to obtain a statement, the suspect was uncooperative.

The suspect was later identified as Kle Swee, with a criminal history revealed in court on Friday. One time in April 2022, the teenager was expelled from his high school, and in the year before he was found to have entered a garage attached to an occupied dwelling to steal a vehicle in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

Assistant Ramsey County attorney Madelyn said in court on Friday that the particular crime led to Swee being charged with burglary. He noted that that incident mirrored the incident with Brasels, where the victim was shot "in his front yard," said the Daily Mail.