Chase Passauer, 23, was the only person present at law firm North Star Criminal Defense in Minnesota on Thursday afternoon when an angry gunman—named in media reports as former North Star client Ryan David Peterson—stormed the office and allegedly shot him six times in the stomach, killing him.
Mr Passauer had worked for the firm for less than a year and was reportedly considering applying to law school, according to his LinkedIn profile.
According to court filings, Mr Passauer may not have been the intended target of the shooting. At 4:55pm on Thursday afternoon, Mr Peterson sent a text message to friend in which he allegedly said 'I just shot my lawyer.' He had until recently been represented by Mr Passauer's colleague and North Star attorney Dan Adkins, who was in court at the time of the shooting. Mr Peterson had reportedly fired Mr Adkins via text message that same afternoon and demanded a refund from the firm, but had been unable to reach Mr Adkins by phone.
As the two had not yet appeared in court together it is not clear whether they had ever met in person, and consequently, whether Mr Adkins was easily recognisable to Mr Peterson.
Mr Peterson was arrested in Washington Country and is now charged with second-degree murder in the Ramsey County case.
Sources: ABA Journal; Above the Law
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