BCA investigating fatal police shootings in Minneapolis, Shakopee

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension continues to investigate a pair of fatal police shootings that happened Friday — one in Minneapolis, the other in Shakopee.

The BCA said Saturday that both investigations are in their "very early stages."

"The BCA will provide further information, including the officers' names, once the initial rounds of interviews are done and BCA crime scene personnel have completed their work," a statement from an agency spokeswomen said.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner will release information about the two men who died once autopsies are complete and family members notified. Their names have not yet been released.

In both cases, police said the men who died were armed with a weapon at the time of the shooting. Officers involved in both cases were wearing body cameras that were activated.

Minneapolis shooting

In the Minneapolis shooting, officers responded to a report of a suicidal person just after 2 p.m. Friday in the 3700 block of Morgan Avenue North.

When they arrived, a man came out of a residence with a weapon and threatened officers, officials said. Officers shot the man.

He was taken to North Memorial Health Hospital with what were initially believed to be non-life threatening injuries. However, just before 5 p.m. police said the man died.

The officers involved have been placed on standard administrative leave. Their identities and the name of the man have not yet been released.

Police spokesperson John Elder declined to identify the weapon, saying it will be part of the BCA investigation of the shooting.

Elder said the department has been training officers on responding to mental health calls.

"All of our officers are trained in de-escalation techniques and I will tell you that there are times when you just don't get to exercise those and I'm not saying that this was the case; I do know that again the officers were outside, the subject came up brandishing a weapon, (and) they ended up shooting," Elder said.

Shakopee shooting

In the Shakopee shooting, authorities said officers were called to a home on the 800 block of Apgar Street just after 11 p.m. Friday on a report of a fire alarm.

Shakopee police reported that the officers were met at the front door by a man holding a handgun.

"While standing at the front door, the male raised the handgun and pointed it at the primary officer. Fearing for his life, the officer fired his weapon, hitting the male," police said in a news release.

Officers began life-saving measures at the scene; the man was transported to a hospital and later pronounced dead.

A handgun was recovered at the scene.

The officer who fired his weapon is a 12-year veteran of the department; his name has not been released.