Man claims self-defense in fatal Minneapolis road rage shooting
MINNEAPOLIS — Just a fragment of police tape is all that appears to remain, after Minneapolis police say a man was shot and killed, in an apparent case of road rage.
According to police, it happened just before midnight Friday in Minneapolis' Seward neighborhood, on the Franklin Avenue ramp to West River Parkway.
Officers said the shooter drove the wrong way down a one-way road, then said he was attacked by another driver.
The wrong-way driver, shot that driver, then called 911.
"I heard five distinct gunshots," said Beatrice Blanc, who lives nearby.
She wrote about the incident in her neighborhood group chat.
"I immediately got on the neighborhood thread and said I heard five pops," said Blanc. "I've never heard gun shots that close. I've never heard gunshots near my house."
"People, I don't know why, but when they're driving and they get into these situations, tempers just flare," said Minneapolis attorney Joe Tamburino.
Despite claiming self-defense, police arrested the shooter.
"Legally, we are not a stand your ground state, so you have to retreat before using force if you can reasonably do so," said Tamburino.
Tamburino said in this case, location matters.
"So was he in his vehicle when he fired? Was he outside of his vehicle? If he was outside of his vehicle could he have retreated?"
"We do not have a lot of crime," said Blanc.
Friday's shooting is something Blanc said she's never experienced in her eight years of living in the neighborhood.
"My heart goes out to those affected by gun violence, directly or indirectly. It's a shame," she said.