2 charged in ambush shooting of Minneapolis police officer
UPDATE (May 13, 2024): Charges have been dropped against a woman related to the shooting of a Minneapolis police officer. Below is a revised version of the original story without the woman's name.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Two people have been charged in connection with the ambush shooting of a Minneapolis police officer late last week.
Charges have been filed in Hennepin County against 19-year-old Frederick Davis Jr. and a woman who was 19 at the time of the incident but turned 20 Tuesday. Davis is from Minneapolis; the woman is from Brooklyn Park.
According to the complaints, the incident happened at about 9:15 p.m. Friday. Officers had earlier been in pursuit of an SUV allegedly tied to a robbery in Brooklyn Park from the day before. The driver took off, but roughly an hour later, an officer in an unmarked vehicle began tailing that SUV.
At 42nd Avenue North and Colfax Avenue North, the charges allege that the officer was ambushed, with someone firing 12 rounds from a Glock 19 that had been modified with a switch.
After getting shot in the right shoulder, the officer drove to an intersection near Memorial Parkway and Fremont Avenue. He reported that he felt his arm go numb when he was shot.
"He stopped at the next traffic light, where backup officers then took him out of his car and to the hospital," said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara.
While being pursued by other officers, the SUV crashed at 21st Avenue North and Upton Avenue North. Two fled the vehicle on foot, and were taken into custody in a nearby yard. The charges state that Davis had been driving the vehicle, and the woman was in the front seat.
Police said a "ghost gun," a handgun without a serial number, was recovered from the vehicle, and the preliminary evidence suggested that gun fired three shots.
A witness reported that Davis had been the one standing in the street and shooting at the officer's vehicle.
In addition to Davis and the woman, another man and a boy under 18 were also reportedly taken into custody; the latter had stumbled from the car with a head injury, whereas the former stayed inside the vehicle. One of those who had been in the vehicle told police that Davis had been the shooter.
Davis is now charged with second-degree attempted murder. The woman is charged with being an accomplice after the fact. Charges have not been filed against any others in connection with the shooting incident.
On Wednesday, Davis' bail was set at $1 million and is scheduled to be back in court on Sept. 15. The woman doesn't have a court date scheduled, but was given a $100,000 bail.
"We experienced a disturbing level of gun violence over the weekend. The danger that comes with all gun violence is intensified when firearms are modified to make them fully automatic, as occurred in this attack," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. "Our office will continue to prioritize prosecution of this type of violence, to bring justice for victims and their families, and to get these dangerous weapons off the street."
The victim, a seven-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department, was able to go home to his family over the weekend. The police department hasn't identified the officer who was shot by name.
