Police: 2 Injured In Downtown Mpls 'Gun Battle'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Two people are hospitalized, three are in custody and a police officer is on leave following a "gun battle" in the warehouse club district of downtown Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Police spokesman Sgt. Steve McCarty said it could have been much worse.
"Thank goodness we don't have these gun battles all the time downtown," he said.
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McCarty said an officer spotted two groups at 2nd Avenue North and 3rd Street shortly after 2 o'clock Monday morning and one person was firing a gun.
An officer fired gunshots and people ran, police said, but officers were able to grab five or six people for questioning. Three were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanors.
"It is still under investigation as to whether this individual turned and threatened the officer or whether the officer felt he was protecting other people that were being fired at or shot at," he added.
Two men were wounded, but are expected to survive.
Now, the officer is on administrative leave.
Police will continue to have extra patrols on duty on Sunday nights because of a pattern of violence on those nights. Some clubs offer "18 and up" admission on Sundays.
Police said the incident is still under investigation.
