Man charged in connection to Minneapolis shootout that killed off-duty firefighter
MINNEAPOLIS — A 28-year-old man has been charged in connection to the shooting death of a Twin Cities firefighter earlier this month.
Marquise Hammonds-Ford, of Monticello, is facing two illegal gun charges and one count of first-degree riot, according to a complaint filed in Hennepin County.
Officers were called to a shooting on the 900 block of Cedar Avenue South in Minneapolis around 12:40 a.m. on May 5, according to the Minneapolis Police Department.
Joseph Johns, a firefighter for Eden Prairie and Eagan, died in the shooting. He had been at a bar for a private party among several motorcycle groups when shots rang out. He was not on duty at the time of the shooting.
Another man was injured in the shooting but survived.
Charges say officers found 63 discharged cartridge casings on both sides of the street in front of the Cedar Riverside neighborhood bar. Investigators were able to determine the bullets had been filed by seven different firearms.
Police say that after reviewing video evidence of the shooting, "it became clear that Victim's death resulted from an altercation and subsequent shootout between two groups of men standing on opposite sides of the street by the bar."
A man, later identified as Hammonds-Ford, was allegedly seen on video wielding a handgun with an extended magazine, yelling and pointing the gun at the group of which Johns had been a part.
Hammonds-Ford allegedly pointed his gun upward and fired off a rapid succession of gunshots into the air. In response, both groups began shooting across the street at each other, the complaint says.
Johns had been directing traffic outside the bar when he was caught in the crossfire. Court documents say it is not clear from which group the gunfire that killed Johns came.
Charges say Hammonds-Ford is a well-known member of the YNT gang in Minneapolis. He is currently on parole for an illegal gun possession case and was convicted for threats of violence in 2017.
Hammonds-Ford is in custody at the Hennepin County Jail. His bond is set at $1 million with conditions.
The investigation into the shooting remains open.
