Teen arrested after hockey coach shot to death after holding fellow student at gunpoint during robbery

The Minnesota teenager arrested in the fatal shooting of a youth hockey coach is the same student seen in shocking robbery footage last year, it has been revealed.

Kle Swee, now 17, was caught on camera flashing a gun at the student, prompting St. Paul police to charge him with first-degree aggravated robbery.

The clip showed him brandishing a gun before trying to steal the child’s mobile phone.

A fight ensued, which was recorded by another student. The victim was 15 years old at the time and Swee was 16 years old.

Officers were initially unsure if the firearm was real, but realized it was a BB gun – prompting Swee to plead guilty in August, for which he was placed on supervised probation.

In January, after completing 100 hours of community service, Swee was fired — but was jailed Wednesday at his family’s home for killing Michael Brasel, 44, four days after he was shot on May 6.

Scroll down to watch the video:

The teenager, who will be tried as an adult in the fatal shooting of a youth hockey coach last week, was arrested last year when he was just 16 years old – for robbing a fellow student at gunpoint in the bathroom of his local high school last year. described encounter

Matt Brasel, a beloved figure in the St. Paul community with two children, was killed by the suspect above on Monday, cops say.

Brasel, a beloved figure in the St. Paul community, was killed when he confronted someone trying to break into his wife’s car, which was parked in front of their idyllic St. Anthony Park home.

As the hockey teacher left the house, one of his two school-aged sons — who are in eighth and fifth grade — told police he heard his father yell, “What are you doing?”

According to the murder charges filed on Friday, a barrage of gunfire followed – Brasel was unresponsive when he was wounded in the family’s front yard.

Witnesses said they saw a black Honda with tinted windows and a loud exhaust leaving the scene heading west and heard its tires screeching as wife Hilary frantically tried to revive her husband.

Paramedics took Brasel to the hospital. That’s where the youth hockey coach was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds from a then-unknown assailant, records show.

The fatal shooting has since left residents devastated, with hundreds of people gathering for a vigil at Langford Park in St. Anthony Park to remember the victim – and the legacy he left behind.

“Michael loved, loved, loved coaching hockey,” Hilary Brasel wrote of her slain loved one in a Facebook tribute post after it was revealed their fifth-grade son, Miles, was among several 911 calls early that morning. shooting.

“He loved the bond that hockey families form over the 6-8 months you play together here in Minnesota,” he continued, revealing that he most recently coached an Area Youth Hockey team in nearby Roseville.

“He loved the time he spent with the kids, making sure all their skates were tied, their helmets were on, and they knew their individual efforts made the team successful.

“His teams never left the locker room after the game to pursue work or moments of growth.”

Pictures shared by some teams, who have been coached by the loving father for years, posted pictures of Brasel on the ice, and parents and players paid tribute to “Coach”

“We are so grateful for the support and love from friends, family, neighbors and the community in general,” Hillary said Friday as a crowd of 100 people gathered to mourn. In addition to his role as a coach, Brasel also worked as a carpenter.

The clip showed Swee brandishing a gun before attempting to steal a fellow student’s mobile phone. A fight ensued, which was recorded by another student. According to the police, the victim was 15 years old at the time.

Police believe the 17-year-old suspect shot the doting father outside his Chilcombe Avenue home (seen here) after finding him trying to break into his wife’s car on May 6.

A fatal shooting has left residents mourning a beloved local figure who is believed to have been gunned down after confronting a teenage robber. Police said her fifth-grade son was among those who called 911 to report the murder

About 48 hours earlier — and less than four days after Brasel’s murder — St. Paul police said the department’s SWAT team had executed a search warrant at the apartment where the 17-year-old suspect was.

Arrest records show the search was conducted after officers gathered witness statements, surveillance footage and phone records, and law enforcement also got a break by matching the bumper of a car left at the scene with its license plate still on.

During the ensuing raid around noon, police say Swee tried to escape by crawling through a window, but was quickly apprehended before being charged with second-degree murder.

Charged with two counts of aiding and abetting murder — one alleging the killing was intentional but not premeditated, and the other alleging it was unintentional in the context of aggravated robbery — Swee could be tried as an adult because of the extent and nature of the previous crimes.

Ramsey County prosecutors revealed the suspect’s prior criminal history in court Friday as he remained incarcerated at the county’s juvenile detention center.

In addition to the April 2022 incident in which Swee was expelled from high school, records show how the then-15-year-old entered a garage attached to an occupied apartment the previous year to steal a car from Albert Lea, Minn.

That act got him charged with burglary, Ramsey County Attorney Madelyn Adams said in court Friday, while noting a recent incident in which a father of two was shot “in his own front yard.”

Authorities also noted that the door of the family’s Ford Flex was ajar and appeared to have been dug through when officers arrived at 7:00 a.m. on May 6. The confident Brasel — who relatives said was an early riser — died while trying to stop Swee from hijacking the vehicle.

In addition to the April 2022 incident in which Swee was expelled from high school (seen here), records show how the then 15-year-old entered a garage attached to an occupied apartment a year earlier to steal a car.

Paramedics took Brasel to the hospital. That’s where the youth hockey coach was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds inflicted by a then-unknown assailant — who police said Friday was in custody and likely will be charged as an adult, records show.

‘[Swee’s] criminal history is indicative of someone who does not hesitate to invade the personal space of his victims,” Adams said, while calling for Swee to be held in custody while the case continues despite his age.

The boy’s mother, who was present, agreed to the condition. An attorney retained by her son, Karla Valusek Strom, told attendees, “We don’t have a custody dispute.”

Judge Sophia Vuelo agreed to the arrangement, citing how Swee, given his history and the evidence against him, poses a risk to the public – and that the charges against him show a blatant “recklessness of the human spirit”.

Finally, the county attorney’s office filed a motion to have Swee tried as an adult — meaning he could spend life in prison if convicted of the May 6 murder.

Authorities added that the bumper with the license plate that led them to Swee’s apartment was registered to the suspect’s father, and the same bumper was missing from a Honda parked in the apartment’s garage that matched witness descriptions and surveillance footage snapped at the scene.

When asked Sunday if they were still pursuing other suspects, St Paul PD spokeswoman Alyssa Arcand said “investigators are keeping all avenues open at this time.”

Swee is still in jail without bail and still isn’treport to the police. A court date has not yet been announced.