EDINA, Minn. — A Minneapolis man was charged with murder in the death of Christian Lundegaard, who was fatally stabbed at an Edina bus stop last week.
On Tuesday, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office charged 32-year-old Adam Garcia with one count of second-degree murder in the Nov. 22 attack that resulted in the 62-year-old Lundegaard's death.
If Garcia is convicted, the sentence carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
Prosecutors allege Garcia and Lundegaard were involved in an altercation outside the bus stop on York Avenue in Edina. Court documents said officers arrived to the scene to find a man, identified as Lundegaard, bleeding from apparent stab wounds. He was then transferred to the hospital, where he died.
Police said surveillance footage collected from the area showed the situation unfold and reportedly captured Lundegaard as he began to move away from Garcia. Police allege the video showed Garcia following Lundegaard until a tussle ensued, causing Lundegaard to fall to the ground after being "struck" by Garcia.
The criminal complaint goes on to say Garcia is then shown in the video "collecting items from the ground" before walking away from Lundegaard.
Additional surveillance footage enabled investigators to locate the alleged weapon, a knife, which they said was "discarded" into a sewer grate.
According to the complaint, a bus driver came up to the stop just moments after the confrontation, later telling dispatchers he saw Lundegaard "crouched down" before "something hit" him, causing him to fall.
A subsequent autopsy performed by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner indicates Lundegaard died as the result of five stab wounds, two of which were to the chest.
Authorities say Garcia was still at the scene when officers arrived and was immediately taken into custody, where he remains.
On Tuesday, Lundegaard's family released the following statement:
We remain devastated by the death of our son, father and brother Chris Lundegaard, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, by a random act of violence at a bus stop in Edina. Chris was 10 years sober, a leader in his AA group, and beloved by family and friends. He was kind and generous and had a quick brain that could pull up names, quotes and dates—especially about movies, music, and “The Simpsons.” He was a crackerjack ping pong and cribbage player, and was always in the thick of family games. He was rebuilding relationships, beginning to explore more of the world, and had so many possibilities, and all of that was taken away. This will never not hurt.
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