Source Pioneer Press
A man armed with an AK-47 terrorized a South Minneapolis neighborhood overnight Friday walking the streets with a weapon, firing it into his apartment building and then holing up and firing at law enforcement who were trying to take him into custody.
The “terrifying incident” ended when police shot the man and took him into custody early Saturday morning, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said in a news release.
It began Friday night about 10:50 p.m. when several people called 911 to report a man with a shotgun walking near the 4000 block of Minnehaha Avenue. When officers arrived, they could not find the man. Several hours later, at about 4:40 a.m., several people in the same area called 911 to report shots fired. Many of the callers live in an apartment building on that block and said they could hear shots being fired inside their building, someone knocking on their doors and breaking glass.
When officers arrived, they found bullet holes in the front door of the apartment building and shell casings on the floor. Inside an open apartment door, they found a shotgun on the floor. Officers heard more gunfire and immediately evacuated residents of the building. The shooter holed up in a stairwell during the evacuation and while SWAT and negotiation teams moved in. During this time, the man continued to fire rounds from an AK-47-style rifle.
About 5:30 a.m., an officer armed with a rifle shot the shooter and police were able to enter the stairwell and disarm him of the assault weapon and a .45-caliber handgun. Authorities later found a backpack with additional ammunition and loaded magazines in the stairwell. The man, who was wearing a military-style flak vest, was identified as a 40-year-old resident of the building. He was taken to the hospital with a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound. He is also in custody at the hospital. His condition was stable on Saturday.
“This was an incredibly unpredictable, terrifying and rapidly evolving situation,” said O’Hara. “I can’t say how thankful I am for the men and women of the Minneapolis Police and other officers that responded here. I know it must have taken incredible courage and valor to do exactly what they’re trained to do. Thank God, no one else was hurt.”
No one besides the shooter was injured.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the incident.
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