On Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at 11:36 PM, officers responded to a shooting that occurred inside Bar Zia in downtown Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. Upon arrival, officers located four individuals suffering from gunshot wounds: Victim 1, Victim 2, Victim 3, and Victim 4. Officers observed that Victim 1 suffered multiple gunshots to his torso and head and was nonresponsive, and he was pronounced deceased at the scene. A subsequent autopsy determined that Victim 1’s death was caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
Victim 2, Victim 3, and Victim 4 received medical treatment for gunshot wounds to lower extremities and are expected to survive. Officers observed and collected at least thirteen.40-caliber discharged cartridge casings (DCCs) on the dance floor. Officers also gleaned from witness accounts that a single gunman focused gunfire exclusively on Victim 1 from a short distance, killing Victim 1 and injuring Victims 2, 3, and 4 with errant shots. Investigators obtained surveillance videos from the bar, confirmed that there was a sole gunman, located images of the sole gunman, and distributed images of the gunman to fellow officers.
The gunman was recognized from prior interactions with law enforcement and was identified as Arlonzo Williams, a codefendant in this case (herein: “Codefendant”). Investigators also observed that Codefendant was joined and aided in efforts by two other men. These two men were also recognized from prior interactions with law enforcement. One male was identified as Dantrell Clark, the defendant in this case. The other male was identified as “Accomplice.” Utilizing surveillance video, investigators were able to document a timeline of events which led to the shooting.
At 10:31 PM, Codefendant and Defendant arrived in the area near Bar Zia in a silver Chevrolet Sedan. At 10:35 PM, Defendant urinated on a building where the men parked the sedan. At 10:52 PM, Codefendant and Defendant stood in front of a parking-meter station to pay for street parking, and then they walked to Bar Zia. Accomplice traveled to the area near Bar Zia separately, arrived at 10:48 PM, and began fraternizing with others in front of the bar. At 10:54 PM, Codefendant and Defendant arrived at Bar Zia, met with, and had a friendly exchange with Accomplice in front of the bar.
Each of the three men were patted down by security for weapons and provided a wristband, and all three were permitted to enter the bar. During the next half hour, Codefendant and Defendant exited and re-entered the bar multiple times. When the men re-entered the bar, they were required to show security their wristbands but were not re-checked for weapons. At 11:30 PM, Codefendant and Defendant exited the bar, and they left the immediate premises of the bar. They walked together toward their sedan, and lights on the sedan illuminated, consistent with the sedan being unlocked and entered.
