5 men hurt in mass shooting near I-35W & Lake Street station in Minneapolis, police say
Five men were injured in a mass shooting on Monday morning in Minneapolis near the busy Interstate 35W & Lake Street Station.
Police Chief Brian O'Hara said it happened at about 11:10 a.m. on East Lake Street and Stevens Avenue, in the Lyndale neighborhood's northeastern corner.
One man was found with "very serious" life-threatening injuries on a walkway near the transit center, O'Hara said. Three others suffered survivable injuries; two were found inside the transit center and one was found near Stevens Avenue.
A fifth victim, who is said to have been grazed by a bullet, was found some time later near East Lake Street and First Avenue South. O'Hara said he refused medical treatment at the scene.
Some of the victims were brought to Hennepin Healthcare downtown, while others were taken to North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale.
"I don't know why this occurred, don't know enough to say that it was targeted, but again, you know, there's a dense concentration of people here," O'Hara said. "So if you're firing dozens of rounds into an area where there's a dense concentration of people, there's a likelihood you're gonna hit someone that's not intended."
O'Hara said investigators are still "working to determine the sequence of events," but there were two sets of discharged casings, and most of the gunfire — which he said involved "a few dozen" rounds — came from the Midtown Greenway.
"We've gotten a number of conflicting stories that do not go together, so right now it's a matter of reviewing a lot of the video evidence and collecting evidence at the scene," O'Hara said.
He's unsure how many shooters were involved, but there were reports of gunfire also coming from a vehicle, which has not yet been corroborated with evidence.
On Monday evening, city crews began to put up what appeared to be fencing to block an area near the transit station.
O'Hara said the walkway has been "notable for crime and violence" in recent months.
"On Aug. 18, a woman was shot on the Greenway behind me. On Aug. 22, two men were shot near Lake Street and Stevens Avenue. Additionally, we've had other crime problems in the immediate vicinity along this corridor," he said. "Both of those previous shooting cases are active and open."
O'Hara clarified that the walkway is not viewed by the city as an encampment for people experiencing homelessness, but does "have dozens and dozens of people" there daily.
"This walkway has been terrible, as I'm sure anyone who lives down here, has been through here can tell you," he said. "There's a huge volume of garbage and debris ... I'm told that they will leave when folks are here cleaning, and that the cleaning happens twice a day, but then they immediately come back."
Further complicating the investigation is the number of jurisdictions involved, including the Metropolitan Council-operated transit center, the ramp and walkway operated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Greenway, owned by the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority.
"The MPD has been working with all of those entities and actually had a meeting last week trying to address the problems around people congregating in this area," O'Hara said. "I've spoken with the mayor since I've been on the scene here and I've told him that we need to take immediate action to shut this walkway down because it's been causing such, such a problem, which is the high volume of people congregating here that are using drugs, and then the associated problems that happen, both at the transit center and along the Lake Street corridor."
In a statement released Monday afternoon, Mayor Jacob Frey echoed O'Hara's call to fence off the walkway, acknowledging it's "not a permanent fix."
"We are taking immediate steps to secure the area and crack down on the dealers and violent offenders who are exploiting it. At the same time, we will continue to provide pathways for people battling addiction to get the help they need," Frey said. "Our residents deserve safety, accountability, and action – and I appreciate our partners at the State for working alongside us to make this happen."
Minneapolis City Councilmember Jamal Osman said he's been urging the city and the transportation department to take responsibility for issues like this for months.
"Residents, drivers, and people living under the bridge are all at risk," Osman said in a written statement. "Traffic safety, violent crime and public health concerns cannot be ignored. We have raised these issues repeatedly, yet no clear action has been taken."
He's calling for resources to connect those in need with housing and treatment.
Less than 12 hours after Monday morning's attack, eight people were shot in another mass shooting less than 3 miles east on East Lake Street at an encampment in the Longfellow neighborhood. Police said four of the victims' injuries are considered life threatening.
The encampment, located in a privately owned parking lot, has been at the center of a battle between city leaders in its owner, Hamoudi Sabri, who has refused to clear it out. The City Council, at Frey's urging, recently voted in favor of pursing possible legal action against Sabri. After Monday night's shooting, Frey said enough is enough.
"If [Sabri] wants to sue us, he can," Frey said. "If he wants to take this up in court, that is certainly his prerogative. But this is not safe. This is a danger to the community and it's being shut down right now."
Sabri released a statement on Tuesday morning where he said, in part, "the Mayor's answer is the same tired move we've seen for years: displacement. Bulldoze people's tents, fence off their space, and call it leadership. But it isn't leadership. It's an illusion of control designed to make the problem less visible, not less deadly."
Monday's mass shootings also occurred less than three weeks after back-to-back mass shootings in the city. On Aug. 26, one man was killed and six others were hurt in a shooting near Clinton Avenue and East 29th Street, just a few blocks northeast of the scene of Monday's attack. No arrests have been made in that case.
One day later, two children were killed and 21 others were hurt in a mass shooting about 3.5 miles south at Annunciation Catholic Church. The shooter died by suicide.