A GoFundMe account for the funeral of a man shot and killed by Minneapolis police after a standoff that began when a woman with two children reported a man shooting through her apartment wall initially outpaced fundraising for them, but that has since changed after the disparity was pointed out on social media.
The fundraiser, which says it was created by “Marie Larson and friends of the family” of Andrew “Teckle” Sundberg, had raised $15,000 by Saturday evening. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe account for single mother Arabella Foss-Yarbrough raised a meager $2,200 by the same time. The funds for Sundberg sought to cover any funeral expenses, and the GoFundMe for Yarbrough sought to help her repair damage done to the apartment.
Independent journalist Rebecca Brannon tweeted out the disparity Saturday night.
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“The GoFundMe for shooter Andrew Tekle Sundberg now has over $15K — out raising his victim, a single mother who hid with her two sons in her bedroom as he shot bullets through the walls of her apartment. Two Minneapolis police snipers shot Sundberg after a multi-hour standoff,” Brannon tweeted out.
“Arabella Foss-Yarbrough was cooking in her kitchen when bullets started flying through her walls, destroying her apartment. Residents were evacuated and officers had to rescue the mother and her children during the active shooter situation,” Brannon added.
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After Brannon’s tweets and outrage over the discrepancy, donations began to flow in for Yarbrough, and by Sunday afternoon, donations for Yarbrough surpassed those for Sundberg. Although the goal for the fundraiser was $10,000, donors gave more than $50,000 by Monday evening.
Police said they responded to a report of someone shooting at the apartment where Yarbrough was living with her two children on Thursday as officers were evacuating the building, according to the Associated Press.
Police said Sundberg barricaded himself inside a neighboring apartment for six hours as police and his father, Mike, attempted to convince him to surrender. However, after hours of failed negotiations, two police snipers fatally shot Sundberg.
“These efforts became futile when the suspect endangered the lives of others and to prevent death or great bodily harm to another, officers used deadly force,” said Sgt. Sherral Schmidt, president of the Minneapolis Police Officers Federation.
However, not everyone believes the police did everything they could to avoid killing Sundberg.
“Everyone knows had it been a white person in that building they would have talked him out, they would have waited,” said Cindy Sundberg, the mother of Andrew Sundberg.
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“No information has been provided as to why Tekle, who officers had isolated for hours, suddenly needed to be executed. We call on the Minneapolis Police Department to immediately provide the family with the video evidence and other information necessary to answer this question,” civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Jeff Storms said in a statement, according to the Star Tribune.
The Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office is working with the attorneys for Sundberg’s family to enable their viewing of video associated with the response to calls of shots fired, the active shooter situation, and the standoff that followed, the Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement on Saturday. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension remains the lead investigating agency, police noted.
Demonstrators gathered over the weekend at the apartment complex to protest over the death of Sundberg at the hands of police officers. Video shows what appears to be Yarbrough confronting them for demonstrating for a man who she said attempted to kill her and her children, according to Fox News.
“I have black children. I’m a woman of color. If I would’ve lost my life, would you guys do this for me?” Yarbrough said. “If I would have died, would he be a bad guy then? Why is he not a bad guy now?”
The confrontation became heated as some protesters attempted to calm her down, while others dismissed her remarks. “Shut up,” one protester said. “You’re alive,” said another.
