Suspect charged with 2nd-degree murder claims he shot his pistol in ‘self-defense’

Authorities have arrested and charged a man in connection with a deadly shooting last week in Hibbing.

Daniel James Dale, 30, has been charged with second-degree murder for reportedly shooting a man in the parking lot of a Hibbing apartment on Sunday.

Court documents said officers were called to Meadowview Apartments in Hibbing at 2:15 a.m. on Nov. 2. When they arrived, police found a man, identified as 24-year-old Parker Charles Johnson, semi-conscious, who had been shot multiple times.

Johnson later died at the scene.

According to witnesses in the apartment complex, Johnson had been attending a party inside Meadowview.

One witness told police he had seen a man in a Deadpool hoodie shooting in the parking lot and had assumed it was someone, drunk, firing the weapon into the woods.

Also at the party was Dale, who was interviewed by the police. Dale said he heard pops, but had not realized they were gunshots. He also said he did not know Johnson and had only exited the apartment around the time police arrived to grab his sister’s vape.

Dale was allowed to leave the crime scene after being detained with other party-goers due to the police not knowing his connection to the shooting at the time.

Upon reviewing body camera video from the police, Dale was seen wearing a Deadpool hoodie, which he later gave to his sister. After learning this, the police requested that Dale come to the police station to provide a statement.

While at the police station, court documents show Dale provided another statement to law enforcement. In his second statement, Dale claimed he had left the apartment earlier that night to grab whiskey from his car when he heard pops outside and walked back inside.

After police told Dale that witnesses had identified him as the shooter, Dale reportedly denied shooting Johnson.

However, court documents stated that after a “short break,” officers informed Dale that Minnesota allows self-defense as a defense argument in court. Aftwards, Dale reportedly admitted to police that he had shot Johnson, stating it had been “eating away” at him all night.

In his third statement to the police, Dale said Johnson had approached him during the party, asking if he “wanted to see something,” while inside the apartment. While Dale said yes, he had expected to go outside with other people, but found himself alone with just Johnson, which he said gave him a “bad vibe.”

According to court records, Dale claimed Johnson led him to a truck, where he reportedly pulled out a long gun and aimed it at him. Dale said after the gun was aimed at him, he pulled out his pistol and shot Johnson two to three times. After shooting Johnson, Dale reportedly returned to the party and tried not to “freak out.”

When questioned if he made any attempts to get Johnson help, Dale reportedly told officers he did not, claiming that when he saw where he had shot Johnson, he knew he would die.

However, the police allege that Dale’s claims of self-defense do not align with their version of events.

Court documents state officers obtained security video from 170 yards from the apartment, which captured the sound of a gunshot, followed by two more gunshots six seconds later, contrary to what they said Dale told them.

Police also said the autopsy report showed Johnson was shot once in the face and twice in the back, indicating Johnson was not facing Dale with a gun when he was shot the second and third time, according to court records.

Dale is currently in custody in the St. Louis County Jail.
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