MINNEAPOLIS — The north side community is honoring a young football player who was gunned down two years ago in Minneapolis.
15-year-old Deshaun Hill was killed on February 9, 2022 after surveillance video shows Cody Fohrenkam brushed shoulders with him after walking by one another. Witnesses reported seeing Kohrenkam shoot Hill multiple times.
Fohrenkam was found guilty of second-degree murder in 2023. But in May of 2024, his conviction was overturned. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that videotaped statements made by Fohrenkam were illegally collected during an interview in jail after he was ordered to be released on an unrelated matter.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has since asked the state supreme court to reverse that decision, and it could rule as early as Aug. 20.
On Friday, a bench was unveiled in his honor outside the team’s football field.
Several speakers were in attendance including Golden Valley Mayor Roslyn Harmon and Don Samuels, who’s currently running to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar in Minnesota’s 5th District.
“Take time, take space because we never know when our time is going to come, but if we take the time and have the space available to let young people know that they matter and that we hear them, it could do a world of difference,” said Mayor Harmon.
Hill’s family has also since started a foundation in his honor to support local athletes and they’re encouraging students to enroll in vocational school.