Man Accused in Brooklyn Center Murder Faces Additional Animal Cruelty Charge

3:04 PM | Thursday, August 4, 2022

An Anoka man, who was already accused with the murder of a Brooklyn Center woman, now faces an additional charge for allegedly shooting and killing the dog owned by another woman.

CCX News reported on Wednesday that Michael Klinger, 36, was charged with second-degree murder for the shooting death of 34-year-old Katie Fredrickson of Brooklyn Center. The criminal complaint described Klinger as the victim’s ‘off-again, on-again boyfriend.’ Fredrickson was shot inside her Brooklyn Center home, police said.

According to the new charge filed Wednesday, Klinger is accused of shooting and killing a dog owned by a different woman in Minneapolis.

The complaint said the woman told police that her ex-boyfriend, identified as Klinger, “suddenly appeared” while she was walking her dog during the morning of July 27 on a Minneapolis street. He said he “had warned her that he would take the best thing she loves,” the complaint said.

That’s when Klinger allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the dog. A neighbor told police he found the woman distraught and crumpled on the sidewalk next to her pet.

The alleged animal torture crime in Minneapolis happened four days before the Brooklyn Center murder.

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