MINNEAPOLIS - Police have increased the number investigators as they continue to search for the person that fired a shot that killed a 5-year-old boy inside a Minneapolis home on Tuesday morning.
Four investigators, up from two, have been questioning various people, resulting in some new leads, police said.
Police, however, are urging the public to help with additional information.
A sense of security turned into a senseless day of sadness at the home at 45th and Bryant Avenue North.
"I was coming into the kitchen and that's when the shots started coming through the kitchen," said Rob Tolliver.
Tolliver's 5-year-old nephew was shot and killed while he was lying on a coach.
"He hollered out and I knew he was hit," said Tolliver. "He was shot in the back and when the paramedics came and turned him over, you couldn't see no exit wound."
The boy is known by loved ones as "Stewie" but his mother identifies him as Nizzel George. She told KARE 11 she is devastated by her son's death, calling him, "my hero."
"We know we have an on-going dispute with likely suspects in this household," said Police Chief Tim Dolan.
Dolan says the boy was not targeted but someone in the home was over an undisclosed dispute.
He would not say if it was gang related but city officials did say police have been called to the home 15 times since 2011 averaging one call a month so far this year.
"Yeah, I'm pissed off but I'm not a parent of a child who's dead," said Minneapolis R.T. Rybak.
Rybak and the police chief say people are coming forward with information about the shooting but they need more.
"Do not protect a person who is using a gun to kill a kid," he said.
Council member Don Samuels who represents north Minneapolis is calling on the area to band together.
"We got to call 911, we got to call 311, we got to start a phone tree, we got to reach out to the kid passing by and we're going to tell the bad guys you better go someplace else because we don't tolerate disorder here," he said.
And while emotions are still very high, the mayor and police are asking people to remember the innocence lost.
"It is important to honor a loss of life with emotions of peace and cooperation and not more violence," said Rybak.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the anonymous tip line at 612-692-TIPS.
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