MPD video shows how officers apprehended downtown shooting suspect within minutes
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police say surveillance video of a shooting outside of a downtown bar earlier this month helped them apprehend the suspect just minutes after he fled the scene.
Video of the shooting, released to WCCO by the city police department, shows a man with a gun shooting into a crowd of people in a downtown Minneapolis parking lot near Hennepin Avenue and 5th Street.
"We have a great camera system that we have because we are able to watch and react before something happens," Police Chief Brian O'Hara said.
O'Hara added it was officer awareness and reaction that led to an arrest. The officer who was working the camera zoomed in to see the man grab a gun from an SUV in the parking lot before reapproaching the crowd.
[NOTE: Video below shows the scene of the shooting. The MPD blurred faces to protect the privacy of the innocent.]
"Because of the plan that's in place here ... as he tried to pull out of this lot right away the officers got behind him and they stopped him at the next corner," O'Hara said.
The plan O'Hara is talking about is the Downtown Late Night Safety Plan. It beefs up patrols in the entertainment district and uses cameras to help monitor what is going on. Despite being short hundreds of officers, the MPD says it's been effective in keeping people safe.
According to MPD, so far this year no one has been shot in the entire 1st police precinct.
"Just the Friday before the Super Bowl I was with hundreds of officers in the Target headquarters conducting a series of evolutions on active shooter training," O'Hara said.
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O'Hara says the parade shooting in Kansas City shows how important realistic scenario-based training is. He knows there is no way to prevent every incident of violence from happening, but he feels good knowing officers are prepared and have the necessary tools to keep people safe.
"Our officers respond very courageously and very quickly, and that's what makes the difference," O'Hara said.
MPD says 10 million people attended ticketed events in downtown Minneapolis last year, and because of the use of cameras, the number of incidents of violence in the area is down from a year ago.
Most firearms confiscated in the city have been pulled from downtown Minneapolis.