Minnesota officer killed while responding to shooting scene

Police say a suspect shot five people on Thursday in central Minneapolis. Officer Jamal Mitchell of the Minneapolis Police Department and an unidentified civilian died from their injuries. Mitchell was ambushed while trying to help victims at the scene, Minneapolis Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell said. The 36-year-old officer was initially trying to provide medical attention to the alleged gunman, who then fatally shot Mitchell, according to Drew Evans, superintendent of Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

The alleged gunman was also fatally injured and pronounced dead on the scene, Blackwell said. One victim received critical injuries and was hospitalized. Two additional victims, a firefighter and another police officer, received non-life-threatening injuries, she added. The shootings took place at two locations several blocks from each other in the Whittier neighborhood, where officers were responding to a 911 call about a shooting at an apartment building. Two people were found shot in or around an apartment unit. Police have not yet identified the gunman or any of the shooting victims other than Mitchell.

Who was the shooter, and what started the shooting? The county medical examiner is expected to officially identify the suspected shooter in the coming days, Evans said. Authorities are still working to uncover the motive for the shooting, but the alleged attacker appeared to work alone, he added. Authorities believe the victims found at the apartment complex knew the gunman, Evans said. This is the fourth time in recent months that first responders have been ambushed while responding to 911 emergency calls, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said at the Thursday press conference.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about the investigation into the fatal shooting of four law enforcement officers earlier this year.