Man shot and killed in north Minneapolis; suspect arrested after attempted carjacking

3 members of We Push for Peace held the alleged shooter for police.

November 12, 2021 at 7:49PM
Authorities wheel a shooting suspect to an ambulance after members of the community held him down after an innocent bystander was shot and killed in north Minneapolis early Friday.  (ANTHONY SOUFFLE • anthony.souffle@startribune.com/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A man was shot and killed Friday morning trying to stop a reputed drug dealer who was fleeing a hit-and-run near the Cub Foods store in north Minneapolis.

The fatal shooting was the city's 85th homicide of the year, which is the same number of homicides in the city for all of 2020.

According to police, the suspect's sedan collided with an SUV at 9:47 a.m. at Lyndale Avenue N. and W. Broadway. The suspect took off running and when a bystander chased him, he turned around and shot his pursuer. The bystander collapsed onto Lyndale Avenue.

The suspect — who was armed and wearing a protective vest, according to officer Garrett Parten, a Minneapolis police spokesman — then fled to the Cub store, where he tried to carjack a woman who was heading for a news conference at the store to kick off the Twin Cities Salvation Army's annual Red Kettle campaign.

The woman, who works for the Salvation Army, pushed the suspect out of her car, and volunteers from We Push for Peace — a community outreach group at the store as part of an effort to deter crime — held the suspect until police arrived.

The suspect was taken to the hospital for treatment and was to be booked Friday into the Hennepin County jail. Police said preliminary information indicated he was in north Minneapolis to buy or sell drugs.

"Who knows what would have happened if we weren't here and grabbed the guy?" asked Trenton Pollard, chief operating officer of We Push for Peace, which has been at the Cub store for a year.

A spokesman for the Salvation Army, Dan Furry, said the employee wasn't injured. "She was fighting tooth and nail," he said. "It's wonderful [We Push for Peace] were here."

A 21-year-old woman and a 4-year-old child, who were in the SUV struck by the suspect had injuries that were not life-threatening, Parten said.

Parten said police don't advise that bystanders attempt to subdue a suspect.

Though three bystanders "putting their own lives at risk" managed to detain the suspect, another person lost his life. "My heart goes out to anybody who knows and loves this person, obviously somebody who was trying to do the right thing," Parten said.

Staff writer Libor Jany contributed to this report.

Kelly Smith • 612-673-4141

about the writer

about the writer

Kelly Smith

Reporter

Kelly Smith covers nonprofits/philanthropy for the Star Tribune and is based in Minneapolis. Since 2010, she’s covered Greater Minnesota on the state/region team, Hennepin County government, west metro suburban government and west metro K-12 education.

See More

More from Local

card image

Republicans across the country benefited from favorable tailwinds as President-elect Donald Trump resoundingly defeated Democrat Kamala Harris. But that wasn’t the whole story in Minnesota.

card image