Man who shot and killed Minneapolis police officer identified

Authorities have released the name of the man suspected of shooting and killing a Minneapolis police officer this week in the Whittier neighborhood of south Minneapolis.

Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed, 35, was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds in the 2100 block of Blaisdell Avenue, according to a news release from the Hennepin County medical examiner's office.

Authorities said that when police responded Thursday to reports of a double shooting at an apartment building, a police officer, Jamal Mitchell, 36, was ambushed and fatally shot. Authorities later found Osman Said Jimale, 32, dead in an apartment. He had been shot several times. Bonney Bowman, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said her agency is still waiting for ballistic test results to confirm whether Mohamed also shot and killed Jimale.

Minneapolis police received a call at 5:15 p.m. Thursday about two people shot in an apartment at 2221 Blaisdell Ave S.

About a block from the building, Mitchell stopped to help an injured man, later identified as Mohamed.

“While rendering aid to an injured man, the injured man pulled out a gun and murdered Officer Mitchell and continued to shoot him after he fell to the ground,” the police chief said. Minneapolis police, Brian O'Hara.

Two Minneapolis police officers fired their weapons during the incident. Mohamed was shot and died instantly.

Mitchell died at the hospital from multiple gunshot wounds. Another Minneapolis officer was shot, treated and released from the hospital. A Minneapolis firefighter was also injured. Another man, who the BCA said was a bystander, was shot in his vehicle. He was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

Officers searched the building and found Jimale's body and another person who was injured and taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The condition of the two men hospitalized was not available Saturday evening.

Mitchell, of Maple Grove, was a father and engaged to be married. O'Hara asked people to keep Mitchell's loved ones and friends in their prayers.

Court records show that in addition to a trespassing charge and a few traffic incidents, Mohamed was convicted of burglary twice – in 2007 and 2008. There are active arrest warrants for the two cases, even though he had already been convicted and sentenced. No further details were available in court records.

The Minneapolis Federation of Police Officers, Law Enforcement Agencies and the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association announced Friday that they had teamed up to collect donations for Mitchell's family . They said it was the only official donation platform verified by the city of Minneapolis and Mitchell's family, and that all proceeds would go to his family.

People can donate at LELS.ORG/benevolent-fund or by sending a check to the Law Enforcement Labor Services Benevolent Fund, Attn: Officer Mitchell, 2700 Freeway Blvd., Suite 700, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430.

The incident remains under investigation by the BCA.