Minneapolis Shooting Leaves Two Dead, Three Officers Injured; Gunman Identified

A shooting at a downtown Minneapolis apartment building left two people dead and three police officers injured.

The suspected gunman, 35-year-old Carlton Neal Johnson II, also died. Johnson was a resident of the Shoreline Plaza apartment complex and was facing eviction. Court records obtained by Fox9 Minneapolis indicate Johnson was facing eviction for threatening statements, assaulting another resident in March, and openly displaying a firearm to management personnel in mid-June. Johnson allegedly made statements to other residents that he had obtained a new firearm and would kill someone.

Johnson denied the allegations in eviction proceedings, with a court date set for September 11. Sources told WCCO that Johnson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and had been evicted from his apartment earlier Wednesday. Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Bill Peterson stated investigators were familiar with who this individual was but did not reveal a motive for the shooting.

Police responded to a 911 call about shots fired just after 4:30 p.m. and entered the building three minutes later. Officers encountered victims and heard additional gunfire, following it to an upper floor where they found a haze that limited their visibility. Two officers sustained gunshot wounds, one in the leg and another undergoing surgery; a third officer suffered a non-gunshot injury.

All three officers are in stable condition. One victim died at the scene, and another died at a hospital. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stated that but for their heroic work, the death toll would have been far higher. Governor Tim Walz asked the public to pray for Minnesota. FBI Director Kash Patel stated the FBI is responding and will offer any and all resources necessary to assist local authorities.

Johnson was linked to 34 criminal cases in the Twin Cities, mostly traffic violations, but also included two assaults and two misdemeanor drug cases. He pled guilty in 2012 to violating a contact order in a domestic abuse case.