Bowler Dies of Beating in Dispute Over Rented Ball

A man died Wednesday after he was beat up by fellow bowlers in a dispute over a rented bowling ball, authorities and a witness said.

“It was just a stupid fight over a bowling ball that escalated and tempers flew,” said the victim’s girlfriend, Laura King.

Mark Robert Bullard, 28, of Brooklyn Park was unconscious and bleeding when officers arrived at Earle Brown Bowl in this Minneapolis suburb. He died at a hospital.

King said she was bowling with Bullard and two others when a group of nine started bowling in the next lane and took Bullard’s ball.

Tension between the two groups mounted, resulting in a brawl, she said.