Who was Amir Locke, the 22-year-old man who was shot and killed by police in Minneapolis

News emerged a few days ago that a young Black man named Amir Locke, 22, had been killed by Minneapolis Police during a homicide investigation.

Amir Locke, who was in possession of a gun, was shot in the apartment where he lived at 6.48 am on Wednesday by officers.

Who was Amir Locke?

Amir Rahkare Locke was a 22-year-old African American who was born and raised in Minnesota, United States of America.

In 2021, he was a DoorDash food delivery driver during the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

He was an aspiring entrepreneur and musician who along with the help of his mother established a limited liability company in 2021.

The plan was for him to use the company for his music and work with the youth.

He had planned on moving to Dallas, Texas, USA on February 9, 2022, to pursue his music career there, but died because of a gunshot in his apartment on February 2nd.

Why were the police there?

 

An MPD SWAT team was deployed to the Bolero Flats apartment building to investigate the homicide that was notified by the St. Paul Police Department.

This has been confirmed by both police departments.

Police in St. Paul said they had asked MPD to execute three search warrants at Bolero Flats, all of which had been approved by a Hennepin County judge.

Who (or what) were police searching for?

Currently, there is no clear answer to that question. 

There hasn’t been any word on what the police were looking for at Locke’s residence, or who they were looking for.

It has been confirmed by Locke’s family members and attorney that the 22-year-old was not included in the search warrant.

According to reports, evidence from the St. Paul homicide case was removed from the location after the shooting, but St. Paul police will not comment on it at this time because the ongoing investigation cannot be commented upon.

Did the SWAT team announce itself before entering?

In the video footage of the SWAT bodycam, the lead officer can be seen opening the apartment door quietly with a key, but without announcing their presence to the residents. 

Did Locke have a gun?

Yes. It can be seen in the bodycam footage. 

According to his family, he had a permit to carry and no criminal record.

According to Locke’s father, he got a gun to protect himself after he became a DoorDash driver.