MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Two people and the suspected gunman are dead following a shooting at an apartment building near Loring Park in Minneapolis Wednesday afternoon. Six others were injured, including three Minneapolis police officers.
Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Bill Peterson says officers entered the building, found victims and followed the sound of gunfire to an upper floor. Officers encountered a haze that significantly limited their visibility before exchanging gunfire with the suspect.
“On that floor, officers encountered a haze that significantly limited their visibility. Officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect. Three officers were injured. Two of them were injured by gunfire,” Peterson said.
Two officers were shot, one in the leg and another twice in the abdomen. Their injuries are not life-threatening, and all three officers are expected to make full recoveries.
Mayor Jacob Frey praised the officers for their response, saying, “They rescued victims, brought people to safety, helped get approximately four people to the hospital, all while getting shot at themselves. Two officers were hit by gunfire, one in the leg, the other with two bullets to the abdomen. But for their heroic work, the death toll would have been far higher.”
Peterson says officers had previous familiarity with the gunman, but investigators have not announced what may have prompted the shooting. Police also have not determined how the suspected shooter died.
Peterson says in his 31 years with the Minneapolis Police Department, this is only the third incident of this magnitude he has experienced.
“Our officers have shown that they are willing and that they do respond and run towards gunfire when others are running from it. And it is absolutely heroic,” Peterson said.
