Ramsey Co Sheriff/Snapchat (Fox 9) Michael Brasel (l) and Kle Swee (r)
Kle Swee is a 17-year-old Minnesota teenager accused in the homicide of hockey coach and married father Michael Brasel in Saint Paul, who, according to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department, tried to stop a break-in of his wife’s car.
The suspect is accused of second-degree murder in the shooting death, Saint Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said in a news conference. Although Henry did not use Swee’s name, he was identified as the charged suspect by KTSP-TV.
“So I am so honored to have shared my life with this amazing man for 23 years,” Brasel’s wife, Hilary Brasel, wrote in a Facebook post. “Michael Scott Brasel was tragically shot in our front yard after confronting someone trying to break into my car. Ever the protector and good man he stood up for me with his last effort and breath.”
A GoFundMe page was set up to help Brasel’s family.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Michael Brasel Died ‘Standing Up to Lawlessness,’ Sheriff’s Officials Say
Just before 7:30 a.m. on May 6, 2023, “a 911 caller reported that their neighbor had been shot on the 2300 block of Chilcombe Avenue. When officers arrived, they located an adult male suffering from apparent gunshot wounds,” according to the St. Paul Police Department.
“Officers secured the scene and called for Saint Paul Fire medics, who transported the victim to Hennepin County Medical Center. The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital,” the news release said.
“Investigators with the police department’s homicide unit are currently working to determine what led to the assault and who is responsible for the death. In addition, members of the video management unit are looking for any surveillance video that could help determine what happened,” the release added. “Anyone with information or potential video from external cameras is asked to call 651-266-5650.”
It was St. Paul’s 13th homicide of the year, the release says.
In a news release, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office wrote: “He went outside to stop someone from breaking into his wife’s car and wound up dead. Michael Brasel was gunned down outside his home, which is tucked into the typically quiet northwest corner of St. Paul. It happened at about 7:30 Saturday morning. Three gunshots woke his wife. She rushed out to help and performed CPR on her husband. Their two young children called 9-1-1. Michael died at a hospital.”
The release continues:
Now his family, friends, neighbors and the entire city are left wondering who did it. Who started by attempting to break into a vehicle and ended up shooting a man three times in the chest? Who lives like that? Who kills like that?
Michael died defending property, but he was really standing up to lawlessness and a disturbing disregard for common decency. He was doing what was right – and sadly paid with his life.
Things like this aren’t supposed to happen.
Yesterday, Michael’s wife made a plea for justice. It’s the least the family deserves. So, if you know who killed Michael Brasel, please come forward. Do it for his family. Do it for his friends. Do it for the kids he coached. Do it to prevent someone else from suffering the same fate while doing what’s right. Do it because it’s right.
2. Kle Swee Previously Was Convicted of Robbing a Student at Gunpoint at Harding High School in an Incident Captured on a Viral Video
According to 5 Eyewitness News, Klee “pleaded guilty to felony aggravated robbery on April 27, 2022, after he was charged with robbing a student at gunpoint at Harding High School.”
The television station reported that Swee “was sentenced to supervised probation for that aggravated robbery on Aug. 4.”
He was 16 years old at the time
Heavy has contacted the Ramsey County District Attorney’s office for additional information.
Fox 9 reported that Swee was “captured on a video that went viral last year inside a Saint Paul Harding High School bathroom.” In that incident, Swee was accused of trying to steal a student’s cell phone, according to the television station.
Fox 9 reported that it wasn’t clear whether the weapon was a BB gun or a real firearm in the robbery case, adding that Swee’s mental competency was questioned in the juvenile case.
3. Michael Brasel’s Wife Wrote That Brasel Had ‘the Best Sense of Humor’ & ‘Giant Love for His Boys’
In her Facebook post, Brasel’s wife gave details of the tragedy.
“Never thought I would wake up to 3 gunshots all of which hit Michael in the chest. Never thought I would have to try to revive my husband with CPR while my boys are calling 911 and watched. Never thought we would have to ride in a squad car to help SPPD investigators find his killers,” she wrote. “Never thought my children would need to be DNA swabbed to help eliminate DNA from my car to catch his killer. Never thought I would tell life source that yes Michael would help others with tissue and organs donation. Never thought that today was my last day to have him in my life.”
She added:
He had the best sense of humor, giant love for his boys, and ever giving spirit to help out those around him. He loved to coach hockey for both the Roseville and Langford Park Youth Hockey Programs over the past 7 years. He love music, art and was forever being the silly one to help us all forget our problems and fears. He was one in a million and I have no idea how to do this life with out him. 💔
She also wrote about his love of hockey in another Facebook post,
Michael loved, Loved, LOVED coaching hockey. He loved the bond that hockey families make over the 6-8 months of the year you play together here in Minnesota.
He loved the time he spent with the kids making sure they all had their skates tied, their helmets were secured, and they knew that their individual efforts were what would make the team successful. His teams never left a locker room after a game with a goal to work on, or a moment of growth acknowledged. His words were always full of humor and fatherly wisdom which included that the kids needed to “practice tying their own skates” so that by the time they were Peewees they were ready to tie their own skates.
Michael also loved, Loved, LOVED the Roseville Area Youth Hockey community and all the joy it has brought to our family over the years. From the Open Skates in the summer when it would be 88 degrees out Michael and my red headed boys woukd escape to the cool Roseville Arena to skate. He had such fond memories of Coach Fox often also being there with his son to grind out the basics. Michael said he always tried to take mental notes when Coach Fox was around for how to teach a skill in the future. He also so enjoyed the outdoor Oval skates with the music and christmas lights all around. He always had a plan for hauling out the pond hockey goals he built for the teams.
4. Court Documents Say Police Believe the Suspect Was Involved in an Unrelated Reckless Driving Incident
The complaint said that investigators reviewed video from nearby residences and determined the suspect vehicle to be a smaller black coupe style vehicle with a sloped rear.
Another neighbor on a nearby street found “that their vehicle had also been rummaged through prior to the shooting” with several items removed from the center console, the complaint said, adding that the same black vehicle was located on nearby surveillance video.
The complaint also says that police believe the same vehicle was driving at a high rate of speed when it swerved up a curb and sidewalk to avoid striking a Subaru. The driver “appeared to be Asian with a ponytail,” the complaint says.
Authorities recovered a bumper from that vehicle, the complaint says; it notes that there were two other recent police contacts involving the same vehicle. In addition, the complaint says the suspect’s phone data showed it was consistent with it being in the area of the homicide when Brasel was shot.
The Saint Paul Police Department had “arrested a 17 year old male” after executing a search warrant, the Saint Paul police chief, Axel Henry, said in a news conference.
He said he was “very confident” in the work that had been done so far in the investigation. He was booked into the juvenile facility, Henry said in the news conference.
5. Prosecutors Are Trying to Waive Kle Swee Into Adult Court
According to KTSP-TV, prosecutors are trying to waive Swee into adult court on the homicide.
Facebook pages in the name Kle Swee are focused on sports, cars, and Pokemon.
Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter praised police efforts in the news conference. He said the Brasel family was enduring a “nightmare,” but that there would be accountability for the death.
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