Hennepin County Attorney declines to pursue charges against North High principal

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office is declining to look into potential criminal charges against Minneapolis North Community High School's principal over a school walkout on the afternoon sophomore Deshaun Hill Jr. was shot and killed last year.

Top prosecutor Mary Moriarty issued a written statement Wednesday in response to Hill's family accusing Principal Mauri Friestleben of criminal liability for the rising football star's death because she released students early, without parent notification, for a protest. Hill was shot near a bus stop by the school around noon on Feb. 9 when he otherwise would have been in school. Last week, Hill's parents, Tuesday Sheppard and Deshaun Hill Sr., were paid a $500,000 settlement from Minneapolis Public Schools in their son's death. The district said in a statement after the settlement that it denied all liability.

The accused shooter, Cody Fohrenkam, 30, is standing trial for second-degree murder, with jury selection currentlyin progress. Criminal charges allege that he shot Hill in a chance encounter after the two passed each other on the sidewalk.

https://www.startribune.com/hennepin-county-mary-moriarty-mauri-friestleben-deshaun-hill-shooting-north-minneapolis/600244530/