Fatal shooting of Minnesota Marine in DC not homicide

Riley Kuznia at his Marine graduation ceremony in San Diego.
This 2017 photo provided by Morgan Kuznia shows her brother Riley Kuznia at his Marine graduation ceremony in San Diego.
Courtesy of Morgan Kuznia via AP

The U.S. Marine Corps says the fatal shooting of a Minnesota Marine at the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C., was not a homicide.

The Marines said Thursday that the Metropolitan Police Department, which is leading the investigation, is treating the shooting of 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Riley Kuznia of Karlstad, Minn., as a death investigation, not a homicide investigation.

According to the Marines, another guard Marine stationed at the barracks fired his service weapon, and the bullet struck Kuznia.

Kuznia was shot early Tuesday and pronounced dead at a hospital an hour later.

KMSP-TV reports the Marine who fired his weapon was relieved of his guard duties and reassigned to administrative duties pending results of the investigation.

Kuznia joined the Marines after graduating from high school in northwestern Minnesota in 2017.

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