St. Paul, MN — Anthony J. Trifiletti, a 24-year old white man from Minnesota, is facing murder charges for fatally shooting Douglas C. Lewis, a 39-year old unarmed Black man, following an apparent roadside altercation caused by a minor car accident.
A few minutes later, both men had another confrontation. Trifiletti reportedly pulled his gun and shot Lewis four times at close range before he fled the scene. Lewis was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead during surgery.
Trifiletti turned himself in later that day of the incident. He claimed he feared for his life as he told police he thought Lewis was reaching for a gun as he came toward him. The police, however, confirmed that Lewis was unarmed at the time.
Moreover, Lewis’ grieving family believes Trifiletti shot Lewis because he is Black. In a tweet from a person who identified Lewis as “my kids father,” there was a screenshot of a private message saying Trifiletti is “afraid of the black community” and that the incident is “a race case 1000%.”
“White people can get away with killing a black man by saying they were afraid,” Lewis’ sister, Valerie Lewis, told Star Tribune. “He killed my brother in cold blood.”
Lewis is being held on bail set initially at $1 million but was eventually lowered to $500,000 with certain conditions or $750,000 without conditions.
