Three people, including a Minneapolis police officer, are dead, and four more suffered serious injuries after a mass shooting in the Whittier neighborhood on May 30.
The shooting occurred on a one-block stretch of Blaisdell Avenue, roughly between Franklin Avenue and 24th Street. Two people were found shot in an apartment, while the remainder were shot a block away.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) investigators say Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell was the first to arrive at the scene. The BCA says Mitchell, who has served for 15 months, saw two people who appeared injured on Blaisdell between Franklin Avenue and 22nd Street. One of them was later identified as 35-year-old Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed.
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The BCA says as Officer Mitchell was tending to an injured person, Mohamed pulled out a gun and repeatedly shot him, even after he fell to the ground. They recovered a handgun with an extended magazine, as well as “numerous” cartridge casings.
The BCA adds that as Mohamed assaulted Mitchell, Officers Nick Kapinos and Luke Kittock arrived at the scene and fired at Mohamed. Mohamed died of multiple gunshot wounds at the scene. His body remained at the scene, covered by a tarp, for over five hours.
Officers then found two people injured in an apartment at 2221 Blaisdell Avenue, where the first 911 call about the incident reportedly took place. Officers found 32-year-old Osman Said Jimale of Minneapolis deceased. The other victim was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) and was in critical condition as of Thursday.
The BCA, who was asked by the Minneapolis Police Department to investigate how Jimale and another person were found shot in the apartment, did not provide an update on the other person’s condition at press time.
Mitchell was taken to HCMC where he later died, becoming the first MPD officer to do so in 20 years. The person who was found shot with Mohamed, who officials believe is an innocent bystander, was also taken to HCMC. The BCA says he is in “critical but stable condition.” Kittock, as well as a firefighter who was shot, was treated at HCMC and released.
The BCA says body and squad car footage of the incident exists, but it had not been released at press time.
Who were the officers involved?
As Mitchell’s body was taken by procession to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office in Minnetonka for an autopsy that evening, Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell reflected on his achievements during his short tenure. Mitchell, who is from Connecticut and lived in Maple Grove with his fiancé and daughter, rescued an elderly couple from a burning apartment last February.
“I’ve never met an officer that received an award on the third day on the job during his [field training]. He’s courageous in every action that he did,” Blackwell said.
The other officers involved are also decorated. Kittock, who the BCA says was injured during the gunfight with Mohamed, won a “lifesaving” award in 2018 during his service as a Metro Transit Police officer. Kapinos, who previously served in Cleveland, Minnesota, a town of 747 in Le Sueur County, was MPD’s 2023 officer of the year and also received the Medal of Valor for his response to the Minnehaha Academy explosion in the Longfellow neighborhood in 2017.
Who is Mohamed?
Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed was born on October 4, 1988. He was convicted in state and federal courts for burglary, trespassing, driving without a license and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. After serving time in federal prison in his late teens, he was later convicted of driving over 100 miles per hour in a 60-mile-per-hour zone, driving without a license, and giving an officer a false name.
Mohamed had at least one warrant for his arrest as of his death. He was charged in state court in 2022 for possessing a firearm while being convicted of a felony. According to a court spokesperson, the warrant was issued for failing to appear.
Reactions from community, elected officials
Memorials for Mitchell have popped up outside of the Fifth Precinct, where he worked, as well as at 22nd and Blaisdell where the shooting occurred. Outside the Fifth Precinct, a squad car is parked with signs in both driver and passenger side windows paying homage to Mitchell. Bouquets and mylar balloons lay in front.
Near where Mitchell and Jimale were found, a makeshift memorial appeared with flowers mounted on a utility pole, rose petals scattered around a sidewalk, and two signs thanking Mitchell for his service. Local outlets reported people holding vigil at both spots in the days following the shooting.
At the same late-night press conference, Gov. Tim Walz expressed concerns about an ongoing trend. “It’s really hard with lots of guns on the street,” Walz said. He has ordered all U.S. and Minnesota state flags at state buildings to fly at half-mast starting the morning of May 31.
The Twin Cities Coalition For Justice critiqued MPD’s response to the incident, alleging police responded en masse when they found one of their own was shot. “Yesterday’s events show that when an incident is a priority for police, they can mobilize limitless resources,” the organization said in a statement.
A spokesperson for The Unity Community Mediation Team, which works with the MPD to build community trust, said at a Monday morning press conference that people must support the MPD as it contends with recruiting challenges.
“We must have law enforcement. No more division in this community,” said Pastor Ian D. Bethel of New Beginnings Baptist Ministries. “Get off of that defund and all that. It’s hard for us in the African American community to get our young Black brothers and sisters to come on and police folks, and this shining model of transformation was killed protecting us.” He added that officers who do wrong need to be held accountable.
H. Jiahong welcomes reader comments at hpan0003@gmail.com.
Abdi Mohamed welcomes reader comments at amohamed@spokesman-recorder.com.
This story was updated with the latest developments on June 4, 2024.
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