Woman, 18, shot to death in Minneapolis home; boy, 13, wounded; mom arrested

An 18-year-old woman was killed and a 13-year-old boy wounded by a single gunshot fired Saturday during confrontation inside a north Minneapolis home, Police Chief Brian O'Hara said.

Their mother was arrested at the scene, O'Hara said.

The shooting occurred about 6 a.m. in the 3600 block of Dupont Avenue N., he said during a news conference down the street from the crime scene.

The shot was fired "during an altercation or fight" and first struck the woman before hitting the boy, O'Hara said.

The woman was taken by emergency medical responders to North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale and did not survive, he said. The boy was taken to North Memorial for treatment of a noncritical wound.

"Clearly, it just speaks to the risk that is involved when a handgun is available and there is some sort of conflict or some sort of disagreement going on," O'Hara said in a video posted to social media. "And this is an absolutely tragic result going on this morning for this family and one that will have consequences on all of them for the rest of their lives."

Three other juveniles in the home were not injured. O'Hara said they were being cared for by other adults.

Police recovered a handgun at the scene, he said.

O'Hara said police were investigating whether the mother, 39, intended the gun to fire during the fight, the chief said.

As of Saturday afternoon, she remained jailed pending charges.

Police released her identity, but the Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged. Police have not disclosed the names of the dead woman and wounded boy.

There have been 11 homicides in Minneapolis this year, according to a Star Tribune database. By this time in 2022, there were 13.