Minnesota man Davis Moturi was allegedly shot in the neck while doing yard work for a neighbor amid a yearslong dispute

A Minnesota man was shot in the neck while cleaning up his yard by a 54-year-old neighbor who had warned him not to touch a specific tree on the property, amid nearly a year of ‘racially charged threats’ .

Surveillance footage of the shooting showed Davis Moturi pruning a tree outside his Minneapolis home when the bullet struck him in broad daylight.

Police alleged that Moturi’s neighbor, John Sawchak, pulled the trigger after months of rising tensions between the neighbors.

“The bullet went through my neck and then all the way back to my spine,” Moturi told KARE 11.

A criminal complaint, obtained by CNN, said Moturi, who is Black, alleged that his white neighbor used “racially charged language” in October 2023 and called him a “Black son of a bitch” in May.

Moturi reportedly called police to report at least 19 incidents of threats, hate speech and intimidation by Sawchak, but nothing was done.

Moturi told police that his neighbor threatened to shoot him “if he touched a specific tree.” While Moturi was cutting down that tree, Shawchak allegedly shot the neighbor from his open upstairs window.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara admitted that his department “failed” to prevent the shooting and agreed that officers should have responded much sooner before Moturi was shot on Oct. 23, the outlet added.

“We failed this victim 100%,” Chief O’Hara admitted.

Police knew Sawchak had mental health issues and tried to arrest the alleged shooter for at least six months, Chief O’Hara claims.

“We have attempted to safely take this individual into custody, which would involve removing him from the home when he is not near guns or other weapons,” Chief O’Hara added.

On October 28, a SWAT team and a special tactics unit broke the windows of the accused gunman’s home after a behavioral threat team, a psychiatrist and members of his family failed to get him out of his home.

When police entered the home, Sawchak surrendered and was taken into custody.

Sawchak faces several charges, including attempted murder, stalking and intimidation.

The community flooded the Minneapolis city council meeting on Halloween to share their outrage over the police response.

The Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution calling on the city auditor to conduct an independent investigation into the city’s involvement and delay its response to the attack.

“We have a responsibility to find out how and why this mistake happened and then take full responsibility for any individual actors or city policies that allowed this to happen so that it is not repeated,” Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley said at the meeting. meeting on October 31.

Prosecutors say race played a role in the crime.

“I don’t call the police for fun. I’m calling because I want my family to be safe,” Moturi told KARE 11 from his hospital bed.

“The safety of our residents is a top priority and any form of violence or hate speech is completely unacceptable and inconsistent with who we are as a community,” said a spokesperson for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. wrote in a statement.