Two officers among multiple people injured in Minneapolis shooting

Multiple people, including two police officers, were injured Wednesday afternoon in a shooting in downtown Minneapolis that drew a large police response and prompted officials to warn the public away from a broad section of the city.

“The Minneapolis Police Department is on the scene of a shooting in the area of 15 E Grant St. involving multiple victims, including two police officers,” the city said on social media around 5:10 p.m. local time.

Officials did not immediately release the total number of victims or details about their conditions. A high-ranking official told WCCO that the two officers were likely to be alright.

The response centered near 15 East Grant Street, at the intersection of Nicollet and Grant, where officers armed with long guns watched an apartment complex for an extended period, CBS News reported. Two heavy armored SWAT vehicles were staged at the intersection, and ambulances lined the area and a nearby block leading toward downtown.

Aerial video from NBC affiliate KARE showed a large police presence, including what appeared to be armored vehicles and SWAT-style officers. Video shot from the ground showed police vehicles with sirens and lights activated.

Law enforcement agencies from beyond Minneapolis also responded. Officers and vehicles arrived from St. Louis Park, Edina, the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota State Patrol, transit police and sheriff’s deputies from surrounding jurisdictions, according to WCCO. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives field division in St. Paul said special agents were responding to the scene.

Police asked the public to avoid the area from 12th Street to Franklin Avenue and from Hennepin Avenue to Third Avenue South, an area that included Loring Park.

Several stretchers were seen being brought out of the apartment building, CBS News reported. Some people removed from the building appeared to be nursing leg injuries, while the conditions of others were not immediately clear. WCCO reporter Conor Wight said a nearby crowd appeared to notice activity around the eighth floor of the complex, where people could be seen inside windows and were believed to be residents still in their units as police assessed the scene.

Abdiwakil Mohamed, of south Minneapolis, told WCCO he heard gunfire while driving down La Salle Avenue. He said he heard three shots that sounded as if they came from a rifle and noticed a police officer had been shot in a squad car. The officer then accelerated and hit another car, Mohamed said.

Mohamed said the shooter fired from a high vantage point in a nearby building and continued shooting at people on the ground. He said he saw an officer remove a bulletproof vest to check whether the officer had been shot in the chest. After that, Mohamed said, police came “everywhere, they came from every single side.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he was aware of the shooting and that state officials were assisting local law enforcement.

“My public safety team is responding to a shooting that took place downtown Minneapolis this afternoon,” Walz said. “State officials are on the ground to support local law enforcement and we will share more information as it becomes available.”

Walz also thanked responding officers, saying, “Grateful to law enforcement actively working to ensure the safety of our neighbors in Downtown Minneapolis this afternoon. Minnesota is praying for our first responders.”