Police: Man, 2 Teens Dead After Shooting Near Lake Nokomis
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) –Minneapolis police are investigating a shooting Friday morning that left three people dead and one in the hospital.
It happened just after 7 a.m. inside an apartment on the 5400 block of 34th Avenue South, just east of Lake Nokomis in the city's Wenonah Neighborhood.
Police say a man and his two teenage children, a boy and a girl, were killed.
A woman was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where her condition is unknown.
Police say a 911 call was made from outside the building.
"I didn't hear a thing. I slept right through it," said neighbor Fred Beamish.
Beamish woke up to find police cars outside his apartment building. He quickly learned that three people had been shot to death in an apartment unit on the floor above him.
"I've lived here 3 1/2 years," he said. "I don't think we have had a police car in the whole time I've lived here that I'm aware of."
Records show that a 39-year-old man, who owns a flooring business, had been living in the second floor apartment for about two years with his teenage children.
His Facebook page said he is from Ecuador and he had also lived in New York City. Two vehicles towed from the scene belong to the man and a woman he used to live with in a nearby house.
"People are very shocked by this and it's scary to see this type of instance happen in this neighborhood," said neighbor Kiran Kavati.
Investigators say they are not looking for a suspect and that the public has no reason to be afraid.
Police said they are combing the apartment where the shooting happened and also the apartment next door. It's possible gunfire went through the wall, but no one in the neighboring apartment was injured.
Police spokesperson Corey Schmidt said first responders are struggling with what they saw.
"We don't know how far reaching this will be in the coming days," he said. "So we are going to make sure that we have chaplains available to anyone who wants to talk with them."
A number of residents with said they never heard any gunfire Friday morning. That may be because the buildings are sound-proofed by the Metropolitan Airports Commission.
Police continue to investigate the shooting and are asking anyone with information to contact them.
Officers from the Third Precinct will be out in the neighborhood Saturday talking with residents and distributing information about domestic violence in the area.
Anyone who thinks they are in an unsafe relationship is encouraged to call 911 or the Domestic Abuse Project at 612-874-7063.