Fridley football star's death an accident, police say; friend arrested

Emmanuel Bartuoh, the "E-man" as his football coach called him, was a quiet leader and a standout player with dreams of a college football scholarship and one day earning a degree.

An accidental shooting inside the Fridley High School student's home Friday evening brought all that to a violent end.

Samuel Keleih Dennis, a 20-year-old graduate of Fridley High, was booked into the Anoka County Jail on suspicion of second-degree manslaughter after he pointed a semi-automatic gun he didn't know was loaded at his friend, Bartuoh, and pulled the trigger, authorities said.

Bartuoh, 18, died of a gunshot wound inside his Fridley town home, where he had been watching the state high school football tournament on TV.

Earlier that day, the all-conference defensive back, who also was on his school's track team, had been in talks with a Midwestern college about a football scholarship. Other Division II and Division III schools also expressed interest, said coach Lambert Brown.

"Wherever I need to go to play and get an education, I'm going to go," Bartuoh had told Brown.

After Bartuoh was shot, football players, parents, school officials and pastors met late Friday night at the high school to grieve.

"We just got together and we mourned," said junior Jimmy Mireri, Bartuoh's friend and teammate. "He was a good kid. He didn't get into trouble or anything."

On Friday night, Bartuoh stayed at home while his friends and teammates went to watch the high school


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semifinals at the Metrodome. Dennis stopped by the town home, and they watched the tournament on TV with some other people, according to the Anoka County sheriff's department, which is conducting the investigation.
At some point, Dennis pulled out a gun and showed it to Bartuoh. Unfamiliar with how to operate a semi-automatic, he pulled the slide back, ejecting a round, authorities said. He mistakenly thought the firearm was unloaded. He then pointed the gun at Bartuoh and pulled the trigger.

Dennis called 911 and attempted to help, but to no avail.

When police arrived, Dennis turned himself in and confessed to investigators.

"It was a rough scene," said Brown, who arrived shortly after being called by one of the players. A police sergeant informed Brown that Bartuoh was dead of a gunshot wound, and he told the players who were gathered there.

On Saturday, the high school was opened again for family members, students and faculty. A candlelight vigil was planned for the evening.

After being selected as a finalist to receive a rotary scholarship, Bartuoh stood before the Fridley Columbia Heights Rotary Club just last week and talked about his desire to get a degree in industrial design.

"He was one of those who really turned on the jets," Fridley High Principal Dave Webb said.

Webb said Bartuoh's mother, who was in Africa tending to her ailing mother, was on a plane back to the Twin Cities on Saturday. Bartuoh also is survived by a younger brother and sisters.