MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Authorities have arrested the person they believe to be responsible for three different shootings, including two separate homicides at homeless encampments that took place in the Phillips neighborhood within 24-hours of one and another.
According to FOX9, all three of the shootings took place on Wednesday, September 18th. Officers said that the arrest followed the third shooting of the evening, which happened around 7:20 p.m. in the area of East Phillips Park near 17th Avenue South and East 24th Street. In the third and final shooting, the victim was rushed a nearby hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries.
After the incident, officers flooded the neighborhood and arrested a man near 17th Avenue South and East 26th Street, which ironically was the location of the first shooting earlier that day. Authorities with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) believe that one man is responsible for all three shootings.
MPD Chief Brian O'Hara said in a statement, "I am so proud and grateful for the dedicated work of our officers who worked with urgency and captured a suspected violent criminal who went on a shooting rampage today. We will continue to serve with a sense of urgency to impact the gun violence that continues to occur at an unacceptable level."
The first shooting took place at 4:40 a.m. on Wednesday, September 18th. Officers responded to the incident and found a victim had been fatally shot at a homeless encampment. That shooting took place in the area of 17th Avenue South and East 26th Street, which is only blocks away from the second shooting on Bloomington Avenue.
At the scene of the first shooting, officers found two men who had been shot. One of the men, who was in his 20s, had been shot in the head and was found dead in the encampment. The other victim, a man in his 30s, was shot at least once in the neck. He was taking to the hospital and is expected to survive.
At the scene of the second shooting, which happened around 4:15 p.m. later that day, police responded to calls of shots fired in an alleyway along Bloomington Avenue and East 25th, which is very close to the homeless encampment. A man in his 30s was fatally shot. Officers said that it appears a group of people walked up to the victim, who was standing next to the garage, and shot him in the head. The alleged suspects then fled the scene.
As of this writing, it is unclear if that victim lived in the homeless encampment. After the shootings, Chief O'Hara called out the issues the city is having with the homeless encampments. He said, "There's been way too much crime and violence this year and way too much associated with the homeless encampments."
He added, "This is not a problem that we're going to arrest our way out of and it's frustrating to the police, just like it's frustrating to the residents that an encampment gets cleared one day here and it pops up, you know, the next day somewhere else. It's frustrating for everyone involved." According to CBS News, neighbors say they have been calling on the city about the encampment since early spring and have witnessed drug dealing, sex trafficking and domestic violence for months.
Neighbor Linda Leonard said, "No, it doesn't surprise me at all because we've had gunfire and illegal activity for months. There's no control over anything that's going on." Leonard said that well-meaning people have been delivering clothes, food and furniture to the encampment, but that's been making matters worse for her and her fellow residents.
She added, "What happens is all that stuff gets dumped on my property and other properties, and then the city fines us for excess garbage. People are using our properties for public toilets, the fighting goes on all night, and even some of the people living there have said, 'We can't live there anymore, we're leaving, this needs to be shut down.'"
Mayor Jacob Frey says that he is working on a new plan to save lives and give neighbors a sense of safety back. He said, "We've given clear direction to our city departments, to our police department, our chief is entirely on board here, to make sure that it will not be convenient to set up these encampments." Chief O'Hara said, "As of last week, 22 percent of all shooting victims in the third precinct were within 500 feet of an encampment."
According to FOX9, all three of the shootings took place on Wednesday, September 18th. Officers said that the arrest followed the third shooting of the evening, which happened around 7:20 p.m. in the area of East Phillips Park near 17th Avenue South and East 24th Street. In the third and final shooting, the victim was rushed a nearby hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries.
After the incident, officers flooded the neighborhood and arrested a man near 17th Avenue South and East 26th Street, which ironically was the location of the first shooting earlier that day. Authorities with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) believe that one man is responsible for all three shootings.
MPD Chief Brian O'Hara said in a statement, "I am so proud and grateful for the dedicated work of our officers who worked with urgency and captured a suspected violent criminal who went on a shooting rampage today. We will continue to serve with a sense of urgency to impact the gun violence that continues to occur at an unacceptable level."
The first shooting took place at 4:40 a.m. on Wednesday, September 18th. Officers responded to the incident and found a victim had been fatally shot at a homeless encampment. That shooting took place in the area of 17th Avenue South and East 26th Street, which is only blocks away from the second shooting on Bloomington Avenue.
At the scene of the first shooting, officers found two men who had been shot. One of the men, who was in his 20s, had been shot in the head and was found dead in the encampment. The other victim, a man in his 30s, was shot at least once in the neck. He was taking to the hospital and is expected to survive.
At the scene of the second shooting, which happened around 4:15 p.m. later that day, police responded to calls of shots fired in an alleyway along Bloomington Avenue and East 25th, which is very close to the homeless encampment. A man in his 30s was fatally shot. Officers said that it appears a group of people walked up to the victim, who was standing next to the garage, and shot him in the head. The alleged suspects then fled the scene.
As of this writing, it is unclear if that victim lived in the homeless encampment. After the shootings, Chief O'Hara called out the issues the city is having with the homeless encampments. He said, "There's been way too much crime and violence this year and way too much associated with the homeless encampments."
He added, "This is not a problem that we're going to arrest our way out of and it's frustrating to the police, just like it's frustrating to the residents that an encampment gets cleared one day here and it pops up, you know, the next day somewhere else. It's frustrating for everyone involved." According to CBS News, neighbors say they have been calling on the city about the encampment since early spring and have witnessed drug dealing, sex trafficking and domestic violence for months.
Neighbor Linda Leonard said, "No, it doesn't surprise me at all because we've had gunfire and illegal activity for months. There's no control over anything that's going on." Leonard said that well-meaning people have been delivering clothes, food and furniture to the encampment, but that's been making matters worse for her and her fellow residents.
She added, "What happens is all that stuff gets dumped on my property and other properties, and then the city fines us for excess garbage. People are using our properties for public toilets, the fighting goes on all night, and even some of the people living there have said, 'We can't live there anymore, we're leaving, this needs to be shut down.'"
Mayor Jacob Frey says that he is working on a new plan to save lives and give neighbors a sense of safety back. He said, "We've given clear direction to our city departments, to our police department, our chief is entirely on board here, to make sure that it will not be convenient to set up these encampments." Chief O'Hara said, "As of last week, 22 percent of all shooting victims in the third precinct were within 500 feet of an encampment."
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