Family of Marine Corps veteran shot dead at Shoreline Plaza, Minneapolis, speaks out

Dale Henry Spry, 63, a US Marine Corps veteran, was one of two men killed at Shoreline Plaza. His family told kstp.com they had been estranged for decades.

Family of slain Marine veteran speaks after Minneapolis Shoreline Plaza shooting

The family of one of two men killed in a shooting at the Shoreline Plaza building in downtown Minneapolis has spoken publicly for the first time, kstp.com reports. Sarah Parsons and her son Anthony Milton met reporters outside the building, which remains a crime scene.

Parsons confirmed her father, Dale Henry Spry, 63, was one of two tenants shot and killed by suspect Carlton Neal Johnson II. She and Milton learned of his death on Wednesday night through phone calls from the medical examiner's office and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

"I was speechless for a minute," Parsons said. "I didn't know how to register it. He hasn't been a part of my life for so long."

Spry, a US Marine Corps veteran, had been estranged from the family for at least three decades, according to Parsons. She says he struggled with PTSD and alcohol abuse. Despite the long separation, she says accepting his violent death remains difficult.

"It's scary. It's honestly scary," she said. "I mean, just going up into the building was like, I was still shaking about it. I can't believe it just happened."

Police have not disclosed a motive for why Johnson opened fire on Spry and the other Shoreline Plaza resident. Parsons says she and her son were briefly allowed inside her father's apartment.

"What hit for my son was the dinner still on the stove and stuff like that," she recalled.

For Milton, the shooting also closed off any chance of knowing his grandfather. "If I had the chance to meet him, I think I definitely would," he said. "Now it's gone. You know, the guy took his life. I won't ever have the opportunity to meet the guy."

The Shoreline Plaza building had been the subject of more than 400 police calls over the two years prior to Wednesday's shooting. A separate deadly exchange of gunfire occurred in the same building in September 2025, a fact that has left Parsons and Milton questioning whether more should have been done.

"They probably should have buffed up security before that happened," Milton said. "After the first one, I don't know what happened."

Milton also reflected on the broader toll of gun violence in the city. "It's like gun violence is so bad. Now, there's people dead. Families are mourning," he said.

Parsons ended with a message for the other families affected by the shooting. "I'm very sorry for your loss," she said quietly. "It's hard. It's very hard."

Source: Google News MT