A well-known anti-violence crusader believed to have fatally shot himself in a north Minneapolis home earlier this month instead may have been killed by someone who has yet to be identified, police say.
A search of the house in which Jimmy Stanback was found June 17 suggested that he was shot in one of the bedrooms, but investigators could not find the gun he had reportedly used, according to a search warrant filed Monday in Hennepin County District Court. They also found a .38-caliber bullet nearby.
Preliminary autopsy findings concluded that Stanback had been shot once at close range behind the right ear, which is "consistent with either a suicide or a murder," authorities said.
Authorities said it also appeared as if someone tried to clean up the blood at the scene.
The incident that resulted in Stanback's death happened sometime before 8 p.m. in a house in the 2300 block of Ferrant Place. Stanback's brother and his girlfriend drove Stanback to North Memorial Medical Center after they found him shot. Several hours later, someone dropped off a gun at Fourth Precinct headquarters that they said had been used in the incident, police said.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing.
Stanback was well-respected among people in north Minneapolis and had helped found Urban Youth Conservation, a mentoring program for at-risk youth in the area.
His son, Jimmy Stanback Jr., was gunned down in early May. The case remains unsolved.
