By the time a Minnesota man’s long-simmering anger with a neighbor exploded in deadly violence Monday, the feud had become a family affair, police said.

“Shoot, shoot, shoot, keep shooting,” the suspect’s wife egged him on as he aimed his shotgun, a witness said.

And six days earlier, the suspect’s son had told the victim and his girlfriend that he was going to “burn down their house and kill them,” according to charges against the son, Jacob Howard Zumberge. The younger man allegedly blamed the couple for his father’s Lyme disease.

Neal Curtis Zumberge, 57, fired across the street at Todd Stevens and Jennifer Damerow-Cleven about 8:30 p.m.

Monday after a years-long dispute over the two feeding deer in their yard in the Minneapolis suburb of New Brighton, according to charges filed Wednesday against Neal Zumberge.

Stevens, 46, died on his front steps. Damerow-Cleven, 48, was struck twice in the abdomen, but survived.

“He shot us! I knew he was going to do this!” she told police who arrived at the couple’s home, the complaint said.

Zumberge was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder in Ramsey County District Court.

District Judge George Stephenson set bail at $1.5 million — the amount sought by the prosecution.

The criminal complaint details allegations against Zumberge this way:

Damerow-Cleven told police that she saw Zumberge’s son, Jacob, at the Acapulco Restaurant in New Brighton earlier the night of the shooting. On Friday, the couple had seen Zumberge’s son at a VFW in Spring Lake Park.



The son confronted them about their feeding of deer in their yard, blaming his father’s Lyme disease on it. He threatened to “burn down (their) house and kill” Stevens and Damerow-Cleven, police said.

New Brighton police arrested Jacob Zumberge on Monday night at the restaurant at the request of Spring Lake Park police. He was charged Wednesday in Anoka County District Court with terroristic threats and assault after allegedly shoving Stevens.

Neal Zumberge and his wife, Paula, were angry about the arrest.

“You (expletive), you put my son in jail,” Paula Zumberge told Damerow-Cleven as she approached the home she shared with Stevens.

Stevens heard the commotion and came outside.

“Suddenly, the defendant appeared with a shotgun and started shooting several rounds at them,” the complaint said.

Paula Zumberge, 50, urged her husband to continue shooting.

Stevens fell to the ground; Damerow-Cleven was wounded but was able to get inside the home and call 911. She hid around a corner as shots entered the home.

Paula Zumberge was gone when police arrived and was not in court for her husband’s hearing. She has not been charged.

New Brighton Police Chief Bob Jacobson declined Wednesday to answer questions about Paula Zumberge’s whereabouts.

Neal Zumberge told investigators from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension after his arrest that the feud with his neighbors had been going on for 15 years. He admitted he left his basement through an egress window and shot Stevens with a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot. He said he didn’t intend to shoot Damerow-Cleven.

He left the shotgun in the basement, he said. They recovered a Browning 12-gauge, semiautomatic shotgun there. It was empty of ammunition, the complaint said.

Investigators found four spent 12-gauge shotgun shells near the front door of the victims’ house.

A medical examiner’s preliminary report said Stevens bled to death from wounds to his head, chest, abdomen and extremities.

A friend and co-worker of Stevens, Jim Kroschel, said Tuesday that the shooting was the culmination of a long-simmering feud between the neighbors.

The feud led to several police calls to both homes over the years, as well as reports of bizarre behavior, Jacobson said Tuesday.

Damerow-Cleven obtained a harassment restraining order against Neal Zumberge in April 2013 after reportedly finding deer parts, dead squirrels and two deer carcasses on her and Stevens’ property, according to a petition filed in Ramsey County District Court. Zumberge also threatened to beat Damerow-Cleven, the petition said.

About the same time, an anonymous letter was circulated in the neighborhood, warning residents of the dangers of attracting deer by feeding them, according to the court petition.

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Nick Ferraro contributed to this report.