Minneapolis Grocery Store Clerk Impaled With Golf Club Dies, 1 Charged

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis man is accused of killing a grocery store clerk with a golf club on Friday. Taylor J. Schulz, 44, was charged Monday with second-degree murder in the killing of Robert Skafte, 66.

If convicted, Schulz faces up to 40 years in prison. He is being held at the Hennepin County Jail on $1,000,000 bail.

Schulz is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.

Just before 1 p.m. on Friday, first precinct officers responded to reports that an employee was stabbed at Oak Grove Grocery in the Loring Park neighborhood.

Inside the store, officers found Skafte behind the sales counter with a golf club impaled through his torso.

First responders treated Skafte at the scene before transporting him to the Hennepin County Medical Center, where he later died.

A witness approached officers at the scene and said a man ran into the apartment building across the street — Oak Grove Towers — with blood on his face and clothing, according to the criminal complaint. The man was identified as Schulz.

Officers went to Schulz's apartment unit on the 16th floor and knocked. Schulz yelled at officers to “go away” and refused to leave the apartment, according to the criminal complaint.

After a six-hour standoff involving negotiators, the Minneapolis Police Department SWAT team, a drone unit, and the bomb squad, Schulz was arrested.

Police found the clothing he wore during the killing, which he tried to clean with a bar of soap, investigators said. Officers also learned that Schulz had assaulted other residents of the Oak Grove Towers "on previous occasions," according to the criminal complaint.