Minnesota man sentenced for bias hatchet attack on black man

ELK RIVER, Minn. – A white Minnesota man has been sentenced to two years in prison for a hatchet attack on a black man.

Fifty-one-year-old Daniel Volkers of St. Cloud was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon motivated by bias.

Volkers confronted a black man who was sitting inside a car in a St. Cloud parking lot in March. The 45-year-old man told police he opened his car door and asked Volkers what he wanted.

Authorities say Volkers threatened the man and swung a hatchet at him twice. The man was able to close and lock his car door without being hit.

Police found Volkers hiding in a pantry in his apartment and recovered a hatchet.