A Mankato, Minn., man is in custody after Minneapolis police say he was involved in armed domestic incidents at two locations and then fired shots in the direction of police who responded to the second incident.
The activity unfolded shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday and began with a report of a domestic incident within the Little Earth housing complex in south Minneapolis. Police responded to the 2400 block of Ogema Place on reports of a domestic involving an armed male breaking into an apartment and threatening to kill the mother of his child, a press release from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) said.
Police found the 41-year-old female, her adult son, and her infant son, who were all reported to be unharmed at the time.
The suspect, 31-year-old Kamau Evans, had already left the scene. Police said the female had an active order for protection against Evans, and that he also had multiple warrants for assault in other counties.
Less than 20 minutes later, police on the north side of Minneapolis responded to a ShotSpotter activation on the 2300 block of West Broadway Avenue. Dispatch audio at the time indicated that the suspect had shot out a patio door and had entered the home with a gun where there were several people present including a grandmother, an adult male, and a 7-year-old child.
While police were staging outside the home, they learned that the suspect involved was the same suspect from the Ogema Place incident. Police made contact with a resident who said the suspect had a gun and was upstairs with the grandmother and that the 7-year-old was also upstairs.
The MPD press release confirmed that the occupants who were assaulted and threatened were related to the female residing on Ogema Place.
Police eventually attempted entry into the home believing the parties inside were in danger from the suspect. Meanwhile, the suspect made his way out of the house and tried to jump a fence in the backyard before being apprehended just after 4 a.m., according to dispatch audio.
Police located a firearm in the yard a short time later, and further audio indicated that the suspect was being transported to the hospital. A second ambulance was requested for the grandmother.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said in a press conference Sunday morning and reiterated in the press release that as police entered a side door of the residence and went into a stairwell, police believe the suspect appeared and fired at least one round at officers. O’Hara said that officers did not return gunfire, but instead evacuated and retreated outside the residence. The suspect then retreated to the second floor where he jumped out of a window, landed on a porch, and tried to flee on foot. Evans was apprehended and was briefly hospitalized for minor cuts and injuries due to breaking the window and jumping out, O’Hara said.
“I am incredibly grateful for the bravery of the Minneapolis police officers who responded, entered to confront an armed suspect, put their lives on the line, and exercised extreme restraint under the most difficult of conditions,” Chief O’Hara said.
The 74-year-old female was transported to North Memorial Hospital for apparent non-life-threatening injuries received during the assault. The 7-year-old was transported to North Memorial Medical Center for a medical evaluation, and the 23-year-old male reported no injuries, the press release said.
Records show Evans was booked into custody at Hennepin County Jail before 2 p.m. Sunday on probable cause charges of first- and second-degree assault, burglary, and mistreatment of an animal.
Evans was also booked on several active warrants out of Hennepin, Anoka, Steele, and Blue Earth counties. Charges in the warrant cases include domestics, auto theft, fleeing police, assaults, robbery, and terroristic threats. Some of the warrants stretch back as far as 2020 and 2021, and some are for cases charged in the last few months where Evans was not apprehended at the time of the incidents.
Evans’ criminal history and media reports indicate he’s been a lifelong violent offender as far back as his teens and early 20s.
Evans is scheduled to make a court appearance on Monday in the Hennepin County warrant cases, and it’s expected that MPD will present requests to the Hennepin County Attorney for charges in the new incidents this week.
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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.
