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Tim Nelson
Brooklyn Park, Minn.

Two men charged in alleged racially-motivated attacks

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Two 21-year-old Minneapolis men have been charged for alleged racially-motivated attacks on men in Brooklyn Park this week.

Anthony Kilpela and Bryan Westerland face felony assault and robbery charges stemming from the attack that took place shortly after 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

They were allegedly part of a group of four people that attacked an 18-year-old bicyclist and later assaulted a 40-year-old man after he got off a bus. Both of the men are black.

Captain Greg Roehl, with the Brooklyn Center Police Department, said a witness summoned police, who caught some of the suspects near the scene of the second assault.

"In talking to the original victim, as well as the second victim, both indicated that they were threatened with an axe or a hatchet, and that the suspects made statements about hating black people and that the first victim was actually stripped of his clothes during the robbery," Roehl said.

Both suspects are being held on $200,000 bond. The charges include enhanced penalties for alleged bias-motivated crime.