Who Tried to Kill Nicki Lenway? A Crime Scene Investigator Survives a Point‑Blank Attack

On the evening of April 20, 2022, Nicole “Nicki” Lenway, a crime scene investigator for the Minneapolis Police Department, was shot twice at point‑blank range in the parking lot of FamilyWise, a parenting center, as she picked up her young son. The attack, captured on nearby surveillance video, left Lenway critically injured with a perforated lung, severe vocal‑cord damage and a bullet lodged between two ribs. She survived after rapid help from a Good Samaritan and emergency responders.

Attack and rescue

A witness, Emilie Clancy, who was stopped at a red light across the street, rushed over after hearing gunshots. Clancy held pressure to Lenway’s neck and followed 911 instructions until paramedics arrived. Lenway briefly walked to the ambulance but soon lost consciousness and was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center.

Suspicion falls within a fraught relationship

Investigators quickly learned Lenway had been at FamilyWise to pick up her son, Callahan, then five, after a scheduled visit with his father, taekwondo instructor Tim Amacher. Lenway and Amacher had a turbulent history: friends described Amacher as charismatic but controlling, and Lenway later alleged abuse during the relationship. After Lenway and Amacher separated, he repeatedly filed child‑welfare and criminal complaints against her and her then‑partner, Minneapolis officer Donovan Ford; none of those allegations were substantiated. In 2020 a judge awarded Lenway sole legal and physical custody of Callahan, sharply limiting Amacher’s access to the child.

Digital forensics and the truck

Surveillance footage showed a person dressed in black sprinting up behind Lenway, firing, then fleeing in a black Dodge Ram pickup without visible license plates. Investigators discovered Amacher owned a similar black Ram and initially denied it was his. Forensic analysis of cellphone records and the truck’s onboard Wi‑Fi placed 18‑year‑old Colleen Larson—a former student of Amacher’s who lived in his home—driving the truck from the couple’s residence to FamilyWise just before the shooting.

Confession, charges and trial

Police recovered shell casings at the couple’s home that matched those at the crime scene. Larson initially denied involvement but, during a recorded interview, admitted: “I took the truck and I drove over there … and then I shot her.” She said Amacher asked her to do it and convinced her Lenway was harming Callahan. Authorities charged Larson with attempted first‑degree premeditated murder and charged Amacher with attempted first‑degree premeditated murder and aiding an accomplice.

Convictions and sentences

Prosecutors presented a case that framed the shooting as the culmination of years of intimidation, legal harassment and control. The defense argued evidence was largely circumstantial and that Amacher had an alibi. The jury convicted Amacher of premeditated attempted murder and aiding an accomplice; he was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Larson pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting first‑degree attempted murder and received a 16½‑year sentence after expressing remorse through counsel.

Aftermath

Lenway continues her recovery and has described living with ongoing fear and physical consequences from the attack. She and Donovan Ford, now married, reported expecting a child together. Callahan—Lenway’s son with Amacher—is being raised by Lenway and Ford and, according to his mother, is resilient despite the trauma. Friends and former associates of Amacher described a pattern of control over students and partners that prosecutors said helped explain how Larson, who had known Amacher for years, could be persuaded to commit the crime.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, call 1‑800‑799‑SAFE (7233) or visit thehotline.org for confidential support.