Man is fatally shot after bar closing downtown; Minneapolis' first homicide in 2017

Two people were shot shortly after bar closing time Sunday in downtown Minneapolis, with one of the victims dying from his wounds, according to authorities.

Five people were shot in downtown in 24 hours over the weekend, police said, and at least nine have been wounded by gunfire citywide since the start of the year.

Police have yet to release any of the victims' identities but an Indiana woman on Sunday said the man who died was her brother, William Irvin, 35, of St. Paul.

"Investigators have determined that the cases are similar in the fact that there were altercations before the shootings, and that the victims in both incidents were the intended targets," said a Minneapolis Police Department statement. "In both cases, the victims were not forthcoming with information or cooperating with investigators."

Minneapolis police officers arrived at the scene of both shootings within seconds, the release said.

The city will add more uniformed and plainclothes officers to the warehouse district to address a group of "violent people, often chronic offenders, who have access to weapons and use them without regard to police presence," Police Chief Janeé Harteau said in a statement issued Sunday.

Mayor Betsy Hodges issued a statement Sunday saying that the brutality won't be tolerated and offered her condolences to the victims.

The latest gunfire occurred about 2:20 a.m. Sunday in the 300 block of 3rd Avenue N., an area of downtown with many nightspots nearby, police said. No arrests have been made.

Upon arrival, officers located a man and a woman with gunshot wounds, police continued. The man was declared dead at the scene, while the woman was hospitalized with noncritical injuries, police said. The man is the city's first homicide of 2017.

In a Star Tribune interview, Jhirneka Irvin of Gary, Ind., said the Hennepin County medical examiner's office identified the deceased as her brother, William Irvin, 35, of St. Paul.

She said her brother was leaving the Pyramid Club downtown when he was shot. Irvin, who was trained as a barber, had two kids and often traveled between Minnesota and the East Chicago area to see his family.

Another sister, Datavia Jones, said the family was stunned that their brother had been caught up in violence. He was a smiling, generous person who would step in to pay his mom's phone bill when she couldn't do it, Jones said.

"He would never let you get off the phone without blowing you a kiss," Jones said.

Neither the Minneapolis Police Department nor the Hennepin County medical examiner's office would confirm the name of the deceased.

Barely 24 hours earlier, a few blocks away downtown, three people were shot. One, Walter Nathaniel Haynes, 30, of St. Paul, was hospitalized in critical condition. No arrests have been announced in that burst of gunfire.

Officers working off-duty near 3rd Street and 1st Avenue N. found two adults suffering from gunshot wounds around 2 a.m. Saturday. A man who was shot multiple times was taken to HCMC for critical injuries. A woman who was also shot was treated at HCMC for noncritical wounds.

Just after 3:30 a.m., officers were informed that a third victim had been treated at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale for a graze wound and released. He told police that he had been shot downtown.

Anyone with information is encouraged to text 847411 (TIP411). Enter MPD, a space, and then the information. All texts are anonymous. Information can also be called in to police at 612-692-TIPS (8477).

Star Tribune staff writers Erin Adler and Libor Jany contributed to this report.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482