Star Tribune
Officials identify man shot to death in July in a Minneapolis alley
Officials have identified a man who was shot to death in Minneapolis more than two months ago.
Ethan Emanuel Johnson, 29, of Brooklyn Center, was shot in the head on July 8 in an alley just north of West Broadway in the 2000 block of north Minneapolis, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday. Johnson died three days later at North Memorial Health Hospital, the examiner’s office said.
No arrests have been announced in connection with the shooting, and police have not indicated a possible motive for the killing.
Officers arrived to the alley about 11:30 p.m. and gave aid to Johnson until fire and emergency medical personnel took over, police said.
This year’s tally of 51 homicides in Minneapolis compares with 46 at this time last year, according to a Minnesota Star Tribune database. There were 37 homicides in the city as of this date in 2019, the most recent year before the pandemic.
A 10-year-old boy has been arrested after police say he recklessly drove a stolen vehicle across a crowded Minneapolis school playground, narrowly missing multiple children.
The boy was booked Thursday into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of second-degree assault in connection with the incident on Sept. 20 outside Nellie Stone Johnson Community School in the 800 block of N. 27th Avenue, police said.
Police records indicate that the boy, whose identity is being withheld by law enforcement because of his age, has at least 30 entries dating to May 2023.
He has been arrested at least twice before for auto theft related crimes, according to police. He’s also listed as a suspect in more than 12 cases that range from auto theft to robbery to assault with a dangerous weapon. The remaining entries are mostly related to cases involving running away, police said.
The boy was identified as the driver of a stolen vehicle that went on the grass and sidewalk between the school and the playground. Surveillance video shows school staff frantically trying to move children off the playground and out of harm’s way.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the 10-year-old’s family is cooperating with police and have asked for help to keep the boy or anyone else from being injured or killed.
“It is unfathomable that a 10-year-old boy has been involved in this level of criminal activity without effective intervention,” O’Hara said. “Prison is not an acceptable option for a 10-year-old boy. But the adults who can stop this behavior going forward must act now to help this child and his family.”
Star Tribune
Edina man arrested and charged with murder in Redwood Falls, Minn., after allegedly setting up ambush to kill police officers
REDWOOD FALLS, MINN. — Police say a man armed with a rifle set up an ambush that aimed to kill first responders, in a scheme ultimately foiled when his weapon jammed.
Christopher Mark Covert, 27, of Edina, has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and first and second degree assault after police said he tried to kill peace officers. He also faces a felony charge for possessing ammunition capable of penetrating body armor.
According to the criminal charges against Covert:
Police said they received two calls about a possible suicide in Redwood Fall’s sprawling Ramsey Park around 9:43 p.m. on Aug. 28.
After arriving at the park, police said they found a car registered to Covert. Inside they discovered camping supplies, a Bible, a crucifix, and Narcan — medicine that rapidly reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.
As police and a search dog scoured the 256-acre park and its miles of hiking trails, they called out into the darkness, “Christopher, it’s the police, we are here to help you!”
They said they saw a man run from them toward a walking bridge by the city’s power plant.
As the man ran away, he allegedly dropped a black rifle case. Inside the case was an AR-15 rifle with an altered trigger and a red dot optic, and 10 loaded magazines with about 300 rounds — some of which were armor-piercing, police said
“People often say, ‘Who is your senior pastor?’ They can’t tell, and that’s exactly what we want,” said John Alexander, the church’s executive director of creative arts. “We resist as much as possible the potential for celebrity.”
Tim Fischer and Amy Hall chatted with Mark Hennessy after attending an Eagle Brook Church service in Baxter on Sept. 8. (Richard Tsong-Taatariii/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
The Lino Lakes lobby began to fill a half-hour before services. Parents checked in kids: Kid-O-Deo for kindergarteners and younger, Elevate for elementary-aged kids, replete with popcorn machines, a climbing wall and Minecraft on PlayStation 4s. When the kids’ service began, about 60 elementary-aged kids watched an Eagle Brook-produced skit on talking to God when you’re afraid. They scribbled down their fears then tore up the papers and gave them to God.
A two-hour drive north, the new Baxter location also filled with young families. Dawn Wicklund, the female pastor, stood unassuming in a flannel shirt, skinny jeans and Nikes. Her Eagle Brook story is like many other congregants. Thirteen years ago, Wicklund was at rock bottom. She’d married her high school sweetheart at 19 when she was five months pregnant. On her first Mother’s Day as a mom, Wicklund’s 17-year-old brother — her closest friend — was killed by a drunk driver. At 25, an overwhelmed mother of three, her dad died of cancer.
That Easter, someone invited her to Eagle Brook Church. She went hesitantly. She’d grown up Christian, but life’s tumult made her angry at God. She wept through the service.
“It just wrecked me,” she said. “… From the moment I sat down, it was just like I knew that Jesus was there, present, and had me there for a reason.”
Congregants have similar stories. Brian Horn lives a two-hour drive from the Lino Lakes campus, on a cattle ranch near Pillager, but he wakes up at 4 a.m. Sundays to drive here for church. He started coming six years ago in search of a new, exciting church experience.
