3 shot in Dinkytown; no suspect info, U of M says
MINNEAPOLIS — Three people were shot in Dinkytown early Friday morning, according to the University of Minnesota.
The shooting happened around 2:15 a.m. along Southeast Fourth Street and 13th Avenue Southeast, an alert from the school said.
The university says there's no information about a suspect right now. It's also unknown whether anyone from campus was involved.
Students are being asked to avoid the area while police process the scene.
Minneapolis police believe a fight led to the shooting. A 22-year-old man with one life-threatening gunshot wound was taken to the hospital. Later, an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were dropped off at separate hospitals with non-life threatening gunshot wounds.
One witness reported hearing gunshots and saw one person taken away in an ambulance.
"I heard a lot of loud bangs in quick succession, too quick to be fireworks obviously," Themis Megas said. "I immediately peeked right out the window since I was right near it, and I saw a lot of people running, hopping into cars, people peeling away."
Megas said police have recently been ramping up security in the area.
"How can we work together to make sure Dinkytown is really a safe place to live, learn and play in the area," said Nick Juarez, a Community Engagement Liaison for the department of public safety at the U of M. In September, they opened a Dinkytown safety center for students and police. It's located just a block away from the early morning triple shooting.
On Friday, Juarez and other leaders met with business owners to talk about what can be done to improve the neighborhood for the long-term.
"We want people to come in. They can have conversations with us about safety concerns they may have. And from there we can see what partners we have available to bring in to resolve some of those issues as well," said Juarez.
It's the same area where WCCO captured chaos on the Fourth of July. Prosecutors charged 20 people with serious felonies for shooting fireworks at people, cars and police officers.
