1 dead, 5 hurt in mass shooting near Minneapolis homeless encampment
MINNEAPOLIS — A shooting near a homeless encampment on the edge of Minneapolis' Seward neighborhood Monday night left one person dead and five others hurt.
The Minneapolis Police Department said the shooting happened just before 11:30 p.m. near 17th and Franklin avenues.
Officers from several departments — including Minneapolis park police, University of Minnesota police and Metro Transit police — aided fire crews and multiple EMTs at the scene. Police say officers also dispersed "an unruly crowd of more than 20 people."
A woman later died from her injuries at Hennepin Healthcare. Her identity will be released at a later time by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.
A man suffered life-threatening injuries while two other men and two other women are expected to survive. A gun was recovered at the scene and police say a man was "arrested for obstruction and unrelated warrants."
Police Chief Brian O'Hara says near the six big homeless encampments the city tracks, there have been eight shootings, including two homicides and 17 robberies. He says Monday night's shooting is not among the six big encampments.
He believes crime connected to the encampments is fueled by the fentanyl crisis.
"I know it's been incredibly frustrating to a lot of our residents who live close by. Unfortunately, these locations are, you know, they're known for narcotics activity, and they're just not safe," O'Hara said. "We know we can't prevent every shooting, but it's continuing to stay the course and trying to go after people who are pulling triggers who have illegal guns."
Neighbors react to shooting
Leslie Byrd lives a few blocks away from the encampment. She bought the home back in 1991 and was excited for the future. Byrd raised her children and was looking forward to watching her grandchildren run around that same home.
However, the last three years she says have been a nightmare when it comes to drug use.
"The needles have been coming at a point where the children cannot play because we don't want them picking them up," Byrd said.
For residents like Byrd, she's hopeful for change but believes it begins with more enforcement.
"What can they do about (the encampment) to protect the innocent citizens of this area?" she said.
Robert Lilligren, a former Minneapolis City Council member and current Metropolitan Council member who works with the Native American Community Development Institute, says the community is frustrated about an uptick in violence and open-air drug use in the area.
"We need help right now. I think the recent shooting is evidence of that," Lilligren said. "Get resources into our community now. So I'm hoping that the urgency to do that will become a little more elevated and apparent out of the city. We're facing big challenges."
Anyone with information on this shooting is urged by police to submit an anonymous tip online to Crime Stoppers, or call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
About half an hour before the shooting, Metro Transit police and Minneapolis firefighters responded to the same area to help a man with his legs caught between a light rail train and the platform. He was taken to a hospital for minor injuries and has since been released.
