Good Samaritan, 69, was shot dead with his OWN GUN by felon who tricked him by knockin on his door and pleading for help from 'mob'

Police say Thomas Sonnenberg, 69, was shot dead with his own gun at home by Devon Derrick Parker

Sonnenberg had called 911 for Parker after the 20-year-old told him he was being chased by baseball bat wielding thugs

Sonnenberg's daughters had been begging him and their mother to leave the increasingly violent north Minneapolis neighborhood

Police arrived to find Sonnenberg shot dead and Parker inside the house coming up from behind on his wife

One daughter said her father 'had a big heart' and had helped many people

New details have emerged in the case of a 20-year-old convicted violent felon accused of murdering an elderly Army veteran with his own gun after knocking on his door begging for help .

Thomas Sonnenberg, 69, of Minneapolis. was shot dead Friday after letting Devon Parker inside his home after he said he was being pursued by assailants with baseball bats and asked for a gun - Parker then shot the retiree in the head, authorities said.



These details have emerged as it has also been revealed that Sonnenberg's three daughters had been pleading with him and their mother to move out of the increasingly violent area.

Sonnenberg had called police prior to being shot in the head, they arrived to find his dead body in the living room and may have saved his wife from a similar fate, according to officials.

Kind-hearted: Thomas Sonnenberg (right) was shot dead after opening his front door to 20-year-old convicted felon Devon Parker (left)

Parker, also of Minneapolis, began frantically knocking on the couple's door just before noon, claiming that he was being chased by a man with a bat, Elaine Sonnenberg, 68, told police.

Sonnenberg answered the door to Parker begging to come in because he was in danger. He let the young man inside and closed the door before calling 911.

He was 'frantic, paranoid and in some sort of distress,' asking for a gun, knife, hat and gloves, she added.

Thomas Sonnenberg was shot shortly after he called 911, but Parker was unaware his wife was in the kitchen - she emerged after the gun discharged, said cops.

'When the murderer found out she was here, he threw her around and choked her, and he was going to rape her,' Raina Baldwin, the couple's daughter, told Mail Online.

The front door locked behind Parker when he entered the house. When Parker realized, he threatened Elaine Sonnenberg to force her to give him the keys, says Baldwin.

Police banging on the door received no response, but saw Thomas Sonnenberg's body slumped over a chair in the living room and began furiously beating the door.

An officer saw Parker come up behind Elaine Sonnenberg just as she screamed that she could not unlock the door.

The suspect was ordered to the ground at gunpoint while Elaine Sonnenberg ran to unlock the door. Parker was immediately arrested.

Family home: Thomas Sonnenberg was shot dead inside the home on Aldrich St where he and his wife raised their three daughters

Police observed Thomas Sonnenberg's right hip gun holster empty, and later found a gun stashed under a bed in an upstairs bedroom.

Police said Parker was on probation stemming from a 2011 felony assault conviction, he remains in jail pending a Tuesday court appearance.

The horrifying murder came as the Sonnenberg's daughters had been begging them to move from the quickly declining neighborhood.

Daughter Rachel Sonnenberg Baufield said she and her two sisters had been trying to convince their parents to move for years, but were unsuccessful because the pair were stuck in an underwater mortgage.

Despite the area's rising crime, this was not the first time her father had opened the door to strangers.

'There have been other people who have come to my dad and begged for help, and my dad gave them money because he didn't want people hurting,' the grieving daughter said, 'and this is the repayment that he gets.'

Police spokesperson John Elder earlier indicated that Parker and Sonnenberg were acquaintances, but Baldwin says that was not the case.

'No. Absolutely not,' she told the Mail Online through tears.

'He thought he was helping someone in need, that's why he let him into the house,' she said.

Baldwin said she believes Parker was attempting to rob the house but did not realize that her mother was also in the home.

Sonnenberg 'seems like an innocent victim. From all indications, this is not a bad guy, a drug deal gone wrong, or anything like that,' Elder told the Star Tribune.

Records show Parker has been booked on numerous other felony charges, including shooting at a public vehicle or facility and throwing bodily fluids or feces and has drug and trespassing convictions.



Arrested: Devon Derrick Parker was on probation when he arrived at the door of Thomas Sonnenberg

Long record: Parker's police record includes felony arrests for violence, drugs and trespassing

Sonnenberg has no police record.

'He had a big heart,' she said. 'He had helped people before who had come to his door. He was not stupid, he thought he was helping this person.'

Elder says there is no indication that Parker was being followed or threatened, and he did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.



Thomas Sonnenberg and his wife have three grown-up daughters and several grandchildren.



He was the second youngest of 10 kids who grew up on a vegetable farm in Brooklyn Center, Darrell Sonnenberg told the Star Tribune.



'He was a pretty good guy, pretty friendly, pretty nice,' Darrell Sonnenberg said. 'Not a tough guy. He took good care of his kids.'

Another of Thomas Sonnenberg’s daughters, Rachel Sonnenberg Baufield, posted about her father's tragic death yesterday.

