Charges: Minneapolis man shot sister's boyfriend during grandmother's funeral

A Minneapolis man accused of shooting a man in the head at his grandmother's funeral Friday on the Fond du Lac Reservation was formally charged Monday.

Shelby Gene Boswell, 28, entered the gymnasium of the Fond du Lac Head Start building at 33 University Road, Cloquet, where a funeral was being held. Boswell walked behind his sister and her boyfriend, Broderick Boshay Robinson, 45, of Minneapolis, who was seated at the time. Boswell then used a rifle to shoot Robinson in the back of the head, according to the criminal complaint.

The funeral was being held for Boswell's grandmother, Hazel Barbara Olson , confirmed Derek Randall, interim chief of the Cloquet Police Department.

Boswell is charged with first-degree assault–great bodily harm, second degree assault–dangerous weapon, third-degree possession of drugs, fifth degree possession of drugs, possession of a firearm despite being convicted of a crime of violence, and introduction of drugs into a jail. Boswell's bail is set at $500,000, and he remains at the Carlton County Jail.

Robinson was identified by Cloquet police Saturday after he was released Friday from Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth.

After being shot in the head, Robinson, still conscious, turned around and saw Boswell pointing a rifle at him, the complaint said. Robinson then ran out of the gymnasium.

Meanwhile, mourners managed to disarm and briefly restrain Boswell before he left the gymnasium and went to the parking lot where he was arrested by police, the complaint said.

"Family members and funeral attendees moved to block (Boswell) from firing again, disarmed (Boswell) and took the rifle out of the gymnasium to an empty locker in a nearby room," the complaint said.

Police found bags of heroin and methamphetamine on Boswell at the time of arrest. During a search at the Carlton County Jail, staff also found a bag of marijuana, the complaint said.

Boswell has a history of convictions for violent crime, including fifth-degree assault and second-degree assault involving a baseball bat on the Fond du Lac Reservation in 2010, as well as a 2015 third-degree assault in Bemidji resulting in substantial bodily harm.

The shooting sent the nearby Fond du Lac Ojibwe School and tribal offices into full lockdown. Although school was not in session because of Minnesota Educator Academy break, a number of children were still in the building for programming.