The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is investigating a fatal police shooting by a Minneapolis police officer that occurred Wednesday morning in downtown Minneapolis.
Mayor Jacob Frey, along with Interim Minneapolis Police Department Chief Amelia Huffman addressed the media about the shooting at a noon press conference. Both offered limited details citing the ongoing investigation by the BCA.
Chief Huffman said, “At approximately 6:48 am this morning, officers from the Minneapolis Police Department SWAT team were serving search warrants to assist the St. Paul Police Department Homicide Unit at the 1100 block on Marquette. This was related to an ongoing murder investigation.”
Huffman said the officers gained entry to the apartment using a key fob and announced a police search warrant “loudly and repeatedly” before they crossed the threshold into the apartment and entered the apartment.
The shooting occurred just over nine seconds after officers made entry into the apartment and after the police encountered a man who was armed with a handgun, according to Huffman.
“He was holding that gun in his hand at the time that shots were fired,” Huffman said. “There was one involved officer. Immediate medical attention was provided to the individual who was shot and the officers carried him to meet paramedics who continued to render aid as he was transported to the hospital.”
Huffman continued, “Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead at Hennepin Health Care. The MN BCA was notified immediately and is heading up the criminal investigation. There was a handgun located at the scene and it was loaded with 5.7 mm rounds.”
Huffman added that the initial homicide investigation is in the hands of the St. Paul Police Department.
The interim police chief’s remarks mirror some of the details posted on Facebook by civil rights attorney and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong.
Levy Armstrong’s post noted that she received a call from Huffman about the shooting on Wednesday morning:
“An MPD swat team was apparently executing a search warrant for the St. Paul Police in a homicide case. The person was shot and killed. I asked Chief Huffman if she had seen the body camera footage and she has not. They are waiting for it to be uploaded into the system this AM,” Levy Armstrong wrote.
Although Huffman said she could not offer more details at this time, Levy Armstrong’s post indicated that the man killed was Black. “The victim is a Black man, who may have been Somali (but that has not been independently confirmed). Right now, there are a lot more questions than answers,” wrote Levy Armstrong.
Activists have planned a press conference at 1117 S. Marquette Avenue in Minneapolis at 5:30 pm, followed by a rally at 6 pm to press for answers about the shooting.
The MSR will continue to follow this story as it develops.
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