Minneapolis Sees 90th, 91st Homicides Of 2021 After Violent Night
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Two people were fatally shot Wednesday evening in north Minneapolis, bringing the city's homicide count for the year to 91, and inching closer to a grisly record set a quarter century ago.
The night's first homicide happened at the Winner gas station on the 600 block of West Broadway Avenue at about 7:40 p.m. A man was shot in the back and later died at a local hospital. He was later identified by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office as 45-year-old Frederick Montgomery Franklin. Police say the shooting was preceded by "some type of exchange" that happened in the gas station's parking lot. It's unknown if the victim knew the shooter. An initial investigation indicates that a car left the area soon after the gunshot.
Police say the second homicide happened a few hours later, around 10:15 p.m., on the 3100 block of Logan Avenue North. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a man inside a residence suffering from several gunshot wounds. He succumbed to his injuries at the scene. He was later identified by the medical examiner's as 30-year-old Anthony Lamonte Edwards.
Officials say that soon after, a man arrived at a local hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. The man is believed to be linked to the shooting, though the extent of his connection to the victim is unknown, police say.
Investigators will examine whether the two homicides were connected.
The city's record for homicides, 97, was set in 1995.