2 dead, 1 hospitalized after shooting in Dinkytown
MINNEAPOLIS — Two men were shot to death in Minneapolis' Dinkytown neighborhood Sunday morning and a third is hospitalized with a gunshot wound.
The Minneapolis Police Department said this happened at Royal Cigar and Tobacco shop on the 400 block 14th Street Southeast around 2:15 a.m.
"Preliminary information indicates that there was an altercation between two groups of customers inside the store that escalated to gunfire," Sgt. Garrett Parten with MPD said. "The individual who was transported to HCMC was one of three employees in the store at the time."
"It is terrifying," said Katherine Strowig, a University of Minnesota Sophomore, who lives near the tobacco shop where the shooting happened, "It's sad that I don't even think, 'Oh my god, two people just died a block away,' because I feel like it's so common."
Minneapolis Police say that everyone involved, including those who were killed and the injured employee, were not students at the U of M.
"I feel like it's ruining it for the students and ruining the college experience for a lot of people, and people who want to come here and go to school. This is something that can ween them away from going here," said Strowig.
Crime scene tape and a police presence didn't deter crowds on a Sunday afternoon. The block of businesses was just as busy as usual, including Mochi Dough, right next door to Royal Cigar and Tobacco shop.
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"We did have to open, I think, an hour later," said Karen Micheel, an employee at Mochi Dough. She's surprised something this violent would happen here.
"It makes me feel unsettled because I would not have imagined it happening like that or right next to where I work," said Micheel.
Meanwhile, Strowig says crime is common in Dinkytown.
"I've barely been out this year. I can't walk alone, can't even walk to the library late at night to study because I feel too scared," said Strowig.
Police said the store employee is expected to survive his injuries.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner identified the victims as Bryson Haskell, 24, of Minneapolis, and Jamarte Sanders, 24.
No one has been arrested at this time.