Crime, Law and Justice

Officers critically injure, arrest active shooter at Minneapolis apartment building

A window shows bullet holes.
Bullet holes are shown in a door at an apartment building on Minnehaha Avenue on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. Minneapolis police are investigating a shooting that occurred at the scene on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Nicole Ki | MPR News

A man was hospitalized and is in custody after being shot by police inside a Minneapolis apartment building early Saturday morning.

The man, who is in his 40s, was allegedly endangering nearby residents starting Friday evening.

According to Minneapolis police, the first 911 call came around 10:30 p.m. Friday. A caller reported a man with a shotgun walking near the 4000 block of Minnehaha Avenue. Officers canvassed the area yet were unable to locate him.

Then around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, the department began to receive dozens of calls reporting gunfire, banging doors and glass shattering at an apartment building. On arrival, officers found the building’s front door riddled with bullet holes. Two neighboring residences were also damaged. They observed a shotgun in plain view from an open apartment and heard additional rounds of gunfire.

“This was an incredibly unpredictable, terrifying and just rapidly evolving situation,” said Minneapolis police Chief Brian O’Hara, speaking to press on Saturday morning.

Minneapolis police from across the city responded with assistance from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies. Building residents were evacuated to a temporary shelter.

A door is boarded up.
A door to an apartment building on Minnehaha Avenue on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, is covered with plywood. Minneapolis police are investigating a shooting that occurred at the scene on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Nicole Ki | MPR News

Police say they located the suspect in the north stairwell of the apartment building and that an officer shot the suspect, injuring the man’s jaw. He was disarmed and given immediate medical aid, then transported to Hennepin Healthcare. O’Hara said the man remained in critical but stable condition as of Saturday morning.

No residents or officers were injured.

The man was found with an AK-style rifle, a .45 caliber pistol and a backpack containing several magazines of ammunition. He was reportedly wearing a military-style flak jacket, according to O’Hara.

Police say no motive is known at this time.

The Minneapolis Police Department has asked the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to conduct an independent investigation. The involved officers are on administrative leave per standard policy, according to the department.