Two shootings 15 minutes apart claim the lives of two men in south Minneapolis

Minneapolis police are investigating two fatal shootings that happened about 15 minutes apart on the city’s South Side on Monday night.

Investigators on Tuesday were working to determine if the shootings were related as they searched for suspects.

“Our officers and investigators are doing everything they can to determine the circumstances that led up to these fatal shootings,” Chief Brian O’Hara said in a statement. “I am grateful for the officers, firefighters and EMS personnel who work tirelessly, even when the weather poses a danger to them.”

The first call about shots fired and a “man down” on the 3400 block of 3rd Avenue S. came in at about 9 p.m. Monday, police said.

Officers at the scene found a 23-year-old man suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound. The victim, later identified as Abdullah Ibrahim Ramzy of Bloomington, was given medical aid before being taken to HCMC in downtown Minneapolis, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

A nearby home, which was occupied at the time of the shooting, was damaged, police said.

About 10 minutes later, roughly one mile away, officers were called to an alley in the 3100 block of Harriet Avenue S. on reports of a body being dumped from a vehicle. Officers found a 35-year-old man suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound and rendered aid. The victim, identified late Tuesday as James Edward Smith of Minneapolis, was also taken to HCMC. Both men died from multiple gunshot wounds, the Hennepin County medical examiner ruled.

The back-to-back shootings mark the fourth and fifth homicides of the year, according to a Minnesota Star Tribune database.

Anyone with information can email policetips@minneapolismn.gov or leave a voicemail at 612-673-5845. Anonymous tips can also be called into Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or submitted electronically at www.CrimeStoppersMN.org.

Liz Sawyer of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.