Minneapolis police fatally shoot man they say was armed, suicidal

Minneapolis police responding to a mental health crisis call shot and killed a man they say was suicidal and armed on the city's North Side Friday afternoon.

Officers were called to the 3700 block of Morgan Avenue N. on a report of the suicidal man just after 2 p.m.

"An individual adult male came outside the residence armed and was subsequently shot by an officer," police spokesman John Elder said. Elder would not specify what kind of weapon the man had, but according to scanner audio, an officer reported to dispatch that "he has a knife" and "he's coming outside."

Moments later, the officer put out a call of shots fired.

Scanner traffic indicated that the man suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach. Although police initially said the victim's injuries were not critical, he later died at North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale.

No officers were injured during the encounter, Elder said, and their body cameras were on. Both officers will be placed on standard administrative leave during an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

"There is no officer that comes to work wanting to harm or kill someone during their shift," Elder said. "It's a bad situation all the way around."

The 911 caller is known to the police, he added, and authorities believe that the caller genuinely felt threatened. Elder said he was unsure whether responders tried to de-escalate the situation before firing. It's not yet clear how many officers fired a weapon, he said.

"All of our officers have had [crisis intervention] training, but there are times when you just don't have that opportunity," he said.

Hours later, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey pledged to continue working with Chief Medaria Arradondo to find out how the fatal shooting unfolded. He reiterated that body cameras were activated at the time.

"We know that the lives of everyone involved are forever changed and that one life was cut short," Frey said in a prepared statement. "Regardless of the information that comes forth, our city mourns a life lost and grieves with a family and community in pain."

After the shooting, Diane Ayler, who lives one block from the shooting scene, waited anxiously on the street corner for her 7-year-old granddaughter to return home from school.

The bus driver had called to say they couldn't make it down Newton Avenue N. because the area was cordoned off with crime scene tape and that the bus would have to swing back around.

"This year was so nice and quiet," said Ayler, who has lived in the Folwell neighborhood for eight years. "All the so-called 'bad people' had moved away."

Previous years had not been so peaceful. Ayler said there was a shooting next door in 2016 and another incident that left her pickup truck riddled with bullet holes. Now, when her granddaughter plays outside, she keeps a watchful eye from the front porch.

A few minutes later, the girl bounded off the school bus and hopped in her grandma's car, clutching school photos.

Officers lifted the crime tape for another set of young schoolchildren who scurried down the block toward home.

Staff writer Libor Jany contributed to this report. Liz Sawyer • 612-673-4648