The victim in a Thursday homicide in eastern Sioux Falls has been identified, according to Capt. Michael Colwill with Sioux Falls Police Department during Friday’s daily police briefing.
Michael Christopher McDaniel, 38, was shot and killed at a Sioux Falls apartment complex Thursday morning, Colwill said.
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Colwell said police believe McDaniel was shot once in the leg with a small caliber weapon, possibly hitting a major artery inside his leg which led the victim to bleed out. An autopsy will be conducted next week to confirm.
Based on the information the Sioux Falls Police Department has gathered so far, Colwell said it is believed that the suspect and victim are known to each other. Colwell also said police have recovered the firearm they believe was used.
Colwell said as of Friday morning, an arrest has not yet been made but police do have a person of interest and believe they know “all of the players in this incident.”
As of Friday morning, no motive had been identified.
“We are in the very early stages of this investigation and will continue to work on the case throughout the next several days, interviewing additional witnesses and processing physical and electronic evidence at this time,” Colwell said during Friday’s briefing.
What happened?
Police were called at about 8:45 a.m. to the area of East 11th Street and South Sneve Avenue, where they found the man suffering from a gunshot wound, according to the press release sent to media shortly after 4 p.m.
The shooting occurred at the Legacy Village Apartments, said Lisa Joens, McDaniel’s friend and a resident at a neighboring apartment complex who witnessed part of the incident.
McDaniel died on the scene.
McDaniel was staying with Joens the night before, the woman said. He told her he needed to go get his wallet from a friend’s residence.
Joens said before he left, he took out her trash and told her he loved her.
“…We call each other best friends or whatever,” Joens said.
After McDaniel arrived at his friend’s place, he was allegedly asked to leave, Joens said. She added she believed the pair allegedly got in a fight and McDaniel was shot.
Joens said multiple people in the apartment complex jumped into action when they learned about the incident. Joens was on the phone with 911. A couple banged on doors. Another man came out to assist at the scene.
“They were trying to save him as we were standing up there, and we’re screaming, and they’re doing CPR…” Joens trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
McDaniel was still alive when an ambulance arrived on scene, but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
In Thursday morning’s police briefing for the media, Sgt. Travis Olsen told the media that a man was cooperating with police and that there was no threat to the general public.
This marks the city’s 16th homicide of 2024, the most in the city’s history for any given year.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Victim identified in Thursday’s fatal shooting in eastern Sioux Falls