For the second time in less than 10 days, several people were shot in a mass shooting in south Minneapolis Sunday night.
Police eventually said eight people, including six teens, sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the attack. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara later said the incident was not believed to be random, noting that the location of the shooting has been a hotspot for narcotics activity and shootings in the past.
The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. near East Franklin Avenue and Chicago Avenue South. A Park Police officer who was in the area called out to dispatch that he heard shots in the area just before the shooting report was aired to police, according to dispatch audio at the time.
Officers arrived at the location and quickly located two victims and then a third, all shot in the legs. A fourth victim walked up to officers at the scene, later reported to be grazed in the arm. Within minutes, the dispatcher aired that three more victims were arriving at HCMC. Several minutes later, an officer aired that a 16-year-old gunshot victim had shown up at Children’s Hospital; he was later reported to have been shot in the abdomen.
The scene was initially chaotic with police indicating there was a large, unruly crowd. Squads were requested from other precincts to assist. One officer requested permission to deploy mace if the crowd became any more unruly and was granted permission by a supervisor. There was no indication over the air that any chemical irritants were used at the time.
At one point, police indicated that at least one shooting scene had been located on Franklin Avenue mid-block between Chicago and Elliot avenues.
Two shooters in hoodies were reported to have fled on foot from the area. Other reports indicated a red vehicle may have been involved, according to dispatch audio.
In a subsequent press conference, Chief O’Hara said police found 41 spent bullet casings including from three different calibers of bullets. The chief described that .223 caliber casings had been found at the scene, indicating what he described as an “assault weapon” had been used.
The chief indicated that none of the victims were able to describe the shooters.
MPD said the injured parties included six males ages 15 to 18 and two adults in their 40s. Information during the incident indicated that one of the victims was a female shot in the foot.
A resident of a nearby apartment also reported damage from multiple bullet holes during the incident, according to dispatch audio.
A ShotSpotter activation related to the shooting indicated that 28 rounds had been detected, a dispatcher aired. An audio clip was later posted online which was reported to be the sound of gunfire from the shooting, indicating the sound of possible automatic gunfire.
LISTEN: gunfire from the mass shooting in which police now say 8 people were injured.pic.twitter.com/wRYUzq9Wkx
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) August 21, 2023
It’s been just days since another mass shooting just blocks away took the life of Nicholas Trevor Golden, 35, and injured six others during a concert at a DIY backyard punk rock venue on the 2200 block of 16th Avenue South on Aug. 11. No arrests have been made yet in that incident.
According to the Minneapolis Police Department’s crime dashboard, there have been 33 gunshot wound victims so far in August. That number had not yet been updated with the numbers from Sunday’s mass shooting nor another shooting at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday in north Minneapolis.
Update, Aug. 23: A previous version of this article said Chief O’Hara did not provide details to support his assertion that the shooting was not believed to be random. This article was corrected to reflect that O’Hara described the location of the shooting as a past hotspot for criminal activity.
– – –
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
