Minneapolis police arrest man suspected in three shootings Wednesday that killed 2 and injured 2

Minneapolis police have arrested a man suspected in three separate shootings, two of them near homeless encampments, that killed two people and injured two others within blocks of each other Wednesday.

“I am so proud and grateful for the dedicated work of our officers who worked with urgency and captured a suspected violent criminal who went on a shooting rampage today,” Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.

The incidents occurred within a 16-hour period in south Minneapolis, roughly in an area between, and to the west of, East Phillips Park and Cedar Field Park. No motive had been established as of late Wednesday.

The first two shootings, both of which turned fatal, occurred near encampments of unhoused people. It was unclear Wednesday if the suspect or victims had been staying in either location.

“This is not acceptable,” Mayor Jacob Frey said near the scene of the second homicide Wednesday afternoon. “There are moms and kids right nearby where the shooting took place.”

The first shooting was reported at 4:40 a.m. on the 2500 block of 17th Avenue South, police said. The victim was estimated to be in his 20s, and another man in his 30s was hospitalized with gunshot wounds that were potentially life-threatening. Both victims were located by officers in an alley.

Police did not detail any events leading up to the incident.

The second shooting unfolded four blocks away, on the 2500 block of Bloomington Avenue S., at 4:15 p.m. Police Chief Brian O’Hara said a man in his 30s was standing by a garage in an alleyway when a group of people passed by. A member of that group approached the man and shot him in the head.

“It’s extremely tragic and frustrating,” O’Hara said.

In the third incident, an adult male suffered a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound at 7:20 p.m. on the 2300 block of 17th Avenue South.

The suspect was arrested 15 minutes afterward, police said, near 26th Street East and 17th Avenue South.

The shootings escalated frustrations surrounding encampments of unhoused people on the city’s south side. Residents and have expressed concerns of sanitation and safety, while service providers and advocates have argued the city lacks shelter space, affordable housing and other resources.

Frey himself argued the encampments were not the result of a lack of resources but from substance abuse.

“These encampments are in place not because of a lack of shelter,” he said. “They’re not in place because of a lack of housing. These encampments are in place, let’s be very clear, because of fentanyl.

“This is a drug-related issue,” he added.

City Council Member Jason Chavez, who represents the area where the shootings occurred, said in a statement that fentanyl was not the only factor. Homelessness, he said, is “skyrocketing” among Minneapolis Public Schools students, while rental evictions, a lack of shelter space and a housing shortage contribute to the problem.

“The lack of direction and leadership has forced the City Council to begin pushing for homelessness prevention tools, stepping in to prevent shelters from permanently closing, and attempting to adopt what other cities have found successful, since it’s clear that the direction Minneapolis is going towards has been ineffective,” Chavez said.