A suspected shooter shot himself dead on Wednesday when Minneapolis police went to the residence to arrest him for a murder that had been committed earlier in the day, and looted in downtown, police told Fox News.
The man was with a woman in a parking garage at 2 p.m., when she encountered another man, said Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder. The couple came into a confrontation with the man, who was shot dead by the man who was with the woman.
MINNEAPOLIS JACOB BLACK PROTEST Leads to 11 arrests, at least 1 officer injured, POLICE SEI
WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
The couple fled on foot but the woman was seized by police shortly afterwards. Authorities searched for the suspected shooter and found him just after 6pm in the Nicollet Mall area, a shopping and dining district in the downtown area.
“As officers approached, he produced a handgun and shot himself,” a parent told Fox News.
During surveillance footage of the shooting, the man showed himself shooting at a group of people.
Officers did not open fire, he said.
Looting in downtown businesses happened after the shooting, Elder said, but no details were available. Officers began making arrests, he said. Videos posted on social media appeared to show people smashing windows and breaking into businesses to steal merchandise.
WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
Mayor Jacob Frey pleads for everyone to go home during a news conference. He set up a direct exit and asked for help from the National Guard.
“What we are calling for now is peace,” he said. “This destruction and damage of property simply takes away from that underlying purpose.”
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo misrepresented that his officers were involved in the death by suicide, saying it was not officer-related.
“I will not allow more trauma to be added to a city that is still mourning from May 25,” referring to the death of George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis police possession provoked ongoing nationwide protests and riots.
He said one officer was injured but not seriously.
Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson told downtown reporters that deputies helped the Minneapolis Police Department. He urged people to go home and get the facts of the case before jumping to conclusions about what happened hours earlier.
“If the police do things wrong, we should hold them accountable, but this is not the case,” he told reporters. “We as police, the Sheriff’s Office did nothing wrong last night.”
Gov.Tim Walz declared a peace emergency Wednesday night and said the National Guard and 150 State Patrol soldiers were mobilized to assist local law enforcement.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Minneapolis, it’s time to heal. We must rebuild and repair. Dangerous, illegal behavior will not be tolerated,” he wrote. “The State Patrol is going to Minneapolis to help restore order. I remain in close contact with the city and every state resource is ready to help bring peace.”
