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Crime, Law and Justice
Tim Nelson and Peter Cox
St. Paul

Plymouth police seeking shooter who killed 1 on Highway 169

Two vehicles on rainy highway.
Plymouth police released this photo Wednesday, July 7, 2021 that they believe depicts the moments leading up to a fatal shooting by one driver on Highway 169 of another. Police say the suspect's vehicle is the light-colored SUV.
Plymouth Police Department

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Updated: July 9, 4:36 p.m. | Posted July 7, 7:14 a.m.

A $1,000 reward is being offered for tips leading to an arrest and conviction in Tuesday’s fatal shooting along Highway 169 in Plymouth, Minn. Police are looking for the person who shot and killed a motorist around 10 p.m. that night. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner identified the victim as 56-year-old Jay Boughton of Crystal.

Plymouth police chief Erik Fadden said Friday that they believe the suspect traveled west on I-694 from Arden Hills then south on Highway 169 near Rockford Road before shooting Boughton, the driver of the other car, as the two vehicles were side-by-side on the road. The suspect then fled the scene.

At a news conference carried by KARE 11, Fadden said it’s been difficult to get information from traffic cameras. Police have not confirmed whether there were witnesses, citing the ongoing investigation.

Police say they're looking for a light-colored SUV — possibly a Ford Expedition, Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban or similar vehicle — possibly with damage to the driver’s side rear bumper.

Boughton died at North Memorial Health Hospital. Police and family members say he was traveling home from coaching a youth baseball game with his son. A statement from the Armstrong Cooper Youth Baseball Association said Boughton's son who was in the vehicle was injured.

Fadden says he believes there was some kind of traffic dispute before the shooting and one of the drivers pulled up and opened fire.

“It is one of the most senseless acts I have ever seen that has resulted in the loss of human life. It is heartbreaking and it’s tragic,” Fadden said.

Police say they're looking for any information on the incident, and are asking witnesses to call Plymouth police.

It's the second shooting in traffic in a week around the Twin Cities. A motorcyclist in Blaine said a driver shot at her last week, puncturing her gas tank.

Boughton’s brother-in-law, Stephen Robinson, spoke at the news conference, thanking first responders and investigators. He remembered Boughton as an amazing father.

“And he was shot. He was murdered — executed for doing something most of us do every day — taking your child to an athletic event, a sporting event,” Robinson said. “So in that sense, we’ve all been there. And in a sense, we are all Jay, right? We do these things every day.”