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1 dead, 2 critically injured after shooting in north Minneapolis
Chief Brian O’Hara said officers were making a traffic stop when they said they heard several rounds of gunfire.
MINNEAPOLIS — One man is dead and two other people are in critical condition following a shooting in a north Minneapolis parking lot, according to Minneapolis police.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters Wednesday night that officers are investigating the man’s death and as the city’s first homicide in 2023. Another man and a woman were also injured in the incident, the details of which, O’Hara said, are scarce.
O’Hara said officers were making a traffic stop around 8:20 p.m. in the area of Lowry and Emerson Avenues North when they said they heard several rounds of gunfire. O’Hara said a ShotSpotter in the area had also detected at least 23 rounds.
Officers in the area, as well as backup officers, responded to the scene, O’Hara said. Crews determined the scene was in the parking lot in front of Gold Star Foods at 818 North Lowry Avenue.
According to O’Hara, the incident began when two men on foot approached a vehicle in the lot, occupied by a man and woman. O’Hara said the situation escalated when one of the men on foot walked up to the driver’s side door and opened it. That’s when, O’Hara said, the vehicle started pulling away, dragging the man outside with it.
The second man on foot started firing at the vehicle as it drove away, according to Minneapolis police, and fled the scene after the vehicle stopped when it became stuck in a snowbank.
O’Hara said the man who had been caught in the vehicle’s driver’s side door also tried to flee before collapsing a short distance away. Police say despite life-saving efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
O’Hara claimed a handgun was found near his body.
The driver of the vehicle, a man, and his female passenger were critically injured in the shooting and subsequently brought to the hospital. Officials said the man was taken to North Memorial Hospital and is listed in critical condition. The woman was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center and is in critical but stable condition.
Police say they believe at least three firearms were involved, and one is believed to have been semi-automatic.
“We’ve had a number of shooting incidents over the last few days and obviously that’s very concerning for me,” O’Hara said. “I think this just speaks volumes to the challenges we’re facing… it shows the crisis that we’re facing.”
O’Hara says the man who fled on foot is still at-large and the case remains open and active.
“We already live in a country with more guns than people, and there are 10 to 20 million more guns entered into circulation each year. It’s an incredible challenge for us to be able to partner with all of the law enforcement and community organizations to take as many guns out of the hands of people who should not have them before situations like this happen,” O’Hara told crews on Wednesday night.
The identity and official cause and nature of the victim’s death will be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner.
O’Hara says there were about a dozen shootings between the weekend and Wednesday night. According to the city’s crime dashboard, 19 people in total were shot so far this year. That’s six more than last year at this time.
Thursday, Mayor Jacob Frey told KARE 11 that while “a single victim of gun violence is far too many,” it’s important to look at the bigger picture.
“Our police officers and Office of Community Safety, through a comprehensive effort, are working like crazy right now to make sure that those numbers are going down and I’ll tell you, they are,” the mayor said.
Data shows homicides dropped 20% last year, from 93 total in 2021 to 79 in 2022. Still, rates remain above pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, there were 46 on record.
On guns, Frey says he agrees with O’Hara, who he nominated to serve as chief last fall. At the time, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus opposed, calling O’Hara anti-gun.
“When you have this incredible proliferation of both legal and illegal guns that come into the city that is an underlying issue,” Frey said Thursday. “We can’t ignore it. Guns kill people. They do. Sometimes, guns come into the city by the trunk-load. It requires our officers to do all the more work to get guns off the street and by the way, last year they broke a citywide record. They broke a record in getting guns off the street and they deserve a lot of credit for that.”
KARE 11 reached out to the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus for comment and received the following statement:
“We share a common goal with Chief O’Hara in keeping firearms out of the hands of those who should not have them, but we reject his implication that lawful gun ownership is part of the problem.
Mayor Frey’s revelation that truckloads of firearms are coming into the city is shocking. We are anxious to see more information about these truckloads, and hope there is strong prosecution of the individuals illegally trafficking those firearms, crimes that are rarely prosecuted in Minneapolis.
Whether it’s trunk-load or truck-load the sentiment is the same, the criminals trafficking firearms are routinely under-sentenced or not prosecuted.”
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The city of hoping to bridge the digital divide by making sure more people have access to the internet.
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Whether or not you have internet available at home, you can now get online when visiting several parks in the city of Golden Valley.
In a news flash, city leaders said they hope to “bridge the digital divide” by making sure anyone can access the internet. They also hope it encourages more people to spend time in city parks and community events, and that event organizers can use Wi-Fi to promote and manage events happening at parks.
“The new Wi-Fi allows residents and visitors to stay connected while enjoying the outdoors. Whether for work, education, or leisure, this access supports more connected community,” the city news flash states.
The service was funded with a grant from Hennepin County.
The parks with Wi-Fi are: Brookview, Gearty, Hampshire, Isaacson, Lakeview, Lions, Medley, Schaper, Scheid, and Wesley. You can access the wifi by selecting GV-NET and accepting the terms and conditions.
Live Nation will operate the new amphitheater that will hold around 19,000 people.
SHAKOPEE, Minn. — There is excitement in the city of Shakopee as construction crews continue working on a 19,000-seat amphitheater near Canterbury Park.
This week, the city of Shakopee and developers announced Live Nation will operate the new amphitheater and the plan is to start hosting concerts in the summer of 2025.
“This is the largest amphitheater in Minnesota,” Shakopee Director of Planning and Development Michael Kerski said. “We’ve been told the plan with Live Nation is to hold between 30 and 45 shows in a normal season.”
Kerski says 2025 will be an abbreviated season because the concert venue will likely open later in the summer. The amphitheater is one piece of a larger entertainment district that is being built next to Canterbury Park.
“This is one of the largest redevelopments in the state,” Kerski said. “The site is over 140 acres. There is 28 acres still open for development.”
Besides the amphitheater, the entertainment district will include shops, restaurants and hotels.
City leaders are hoping this new entertainment district will reaffirm Shakopee’s commitment to being a premiere entertainment hub in the Twin Cities.
“We have Valleyfair. We have Canterbury Park with live racing and they have a card room, Mystic is just down the road,” Kerski said. “We have the Renaissance Festival. We’re used to big events.”
The Twin Cities music scene already features several unique live music venues, but developers believe this new amphitheater fills a void in the market.
There are other outdoor amphitheaters in the market, including The Ledge Amphitheater in Waite Park and Vetter Stone Amphitheater in Mankato, which each hold a few thousand people.
Target Field can also host outdoor concerts with a capacity of around 40,000 people, but Kerski says this new venue will bring big-name acts to the Twin Cities who are looking for a large permanent outdoor venue to host their shows.
“There will be great seating, skyboxes, a big lawn with beer gardens, things that just don’t exist at any of those other amphitheaters or facilities,” Kerski said.
“This venue is really designed around the customer and experience and the artist experience. The back of the house is really important for artists as they travel all over the country. The developers on this project wanted to have a facility in the back of the house where artists can relax and get ready for an event.”
The building, located at 345 Wabasha, has been a magnet for crime and drugs. An inspection on Dec. 9 found the Lowry Apartments unfit for human habitation.
ST PAUL, Minn. — A troubled St. Paul apartment building has been condemned, with city inspectors declaring it unfit for human habitation.
The Lowry Apartments are one of the Capital City’s biggest headaches, a magnet for crime and drugs. An inspection on Dec. 9 documented a lack of fire protection systems, inoperable heating facilities, active plumbing leaks, electrical systems that had been damaged or tampered with, and overall unsanitary conditions, among other things. A condemnation notice was immediately issued.
Being condemned means that all residents of the 134-unit affordable housing building must evacuate immediately. Included in the notice is a list of 25 action items/repairs that must be completed before the Lowry Apartments can reopen. Most are significant, making it unlikely residents will be able to return anytime soon.
The troubled building is owned by Madison Equities, St. Paul’s largest downtown property owner, which is in the process of trying to sell off most of its portfolio after the death of long-time owner Jim Crockarell in January. Court documents say commercial real estate group Frauneshuh partnered with the Halverson and Blaiser Group to manage the property and act on behalf of the owner with tenants and other third parties after the building was placed into receivership in late August.
“The building has been in decline, rapidly, since the owner died,” said resident Megan Thomas when KARE visited the Lowry apartments in August. “There’s a risk of violence, there’s a risk to health, I found a cockroach in an ice cube in my freezer last week because they are everywhere.”
Thomas has since moved from the building because of living conditions.
During that visit, the problems were obvious: The front door to the building was wide open, leaving the Lowry Apartments vulnerable to squatters, drug dealers, and others who were not residents. Windows were broken, plumbing leaked and the elevators were inoperable.
Residents were blindsided when a foreclosure notice appeared on the building in mid-August, leaving them wondering where they would go. The city of St. Paul stepped in to broker a receivership for the property, but it appears now that action was not enough to stem the tide of problems that plague the Lowry Apartments.
Hiding from the cold is what Jaelynn Hoggard is used to as a resident of the Lowry Apartments in Saint Paul.
“My body can’t handle the cold, like my pacemaker feels the cold and everything,” said Hoggard. “I saw them posting it on the door, like the condemned notice. And my heart just shot into my stomach.”
Jaelynn is disabled and says there are times the elevators don’t work. Because of the living conditions, she had to give back her service animal.
“That was the hardest thing to do,” she said.
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