Man charged with killing stranger at Becker County trailer park

A Frazee man is facing murder and manslaughter charges after he allegedly shot and killed a stranger during a late-night fight at a Becker County trailer park Saturday.

Prosecutors on Tuesday charged 31-year-old Willis C. McDonald with one count of 2nd-degree murder and one count of 1st-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of Arlan Ray Bergstrom Jr., 31, of Detroit Lakes .

Bergstrom Jr. died just before 2 a.m. Saturday after being shot in the chest at the Acorn Lake Trailer Park, court documents show.

According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement responded to the scene around 1:20 a.m. Saturday after a woman called 911 and reported Bergstrom Jr., whom she knew, had been shot by McDonald.

McDonald allegedly fled the scene before authorities arrived, but shortly after called 911 to turn himself in, charges state. He was then arrested without incident at his home in Frazee.

In an interview with investigators, McDonald said he'd spent time earlier that day at the Becker County Fair with the woman who later witnessed the shooting.

McDonald said he later went to the trailer park after the woman invited him over for a cigarette.

The two were talking and smoking a cigarette inside his vehicle when a man, later identified as Bergstrom Jr., appeared outside the vehicle window.

McDonald said the woman told him to roll up his window and then Bergstrom Jr. broke out the window and punched him in the face, the complaint details. McDonald said Bergstrom Jr. did not say anything during the altercation.

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According to the complaint, McDonald told investigators he feared for his safety and his life when he reached for his handgun in the backseat.

McDonald claimed Bergstrom Jr. reached for the handgun, which McDonald fired while still being hit by Bergstrom Jr., charges state.

McDonald allegedly admitted to fleeing the scene after shooting Bergstrom Jr. and said he later called authorities after speaking to his sister.

According to the complaint, investigators also spoke to the woman who witnessed the shooting.

Charges state her statement largely matched McDonald's description of events and confirmed Bergstrom Jr. and McDonald did not know each other and had never met.

The complaint does not indicate what might've motivated the initial altercation.