Police officer “ambushed” among three killed in Minneapolis shooting

A Minneapolis police officer was 'ambushed' and killed by a gunman he was trying to help, a suspect was fatally shot by police and a third person was found dead in an apartment amid violence were taking place Thursday, officials said.

Police responded to a report of a double shooting at an apartment on Blaisdell Avenue, and arriving officers “immediately came under gunfire and exchanged gunfire,” the deputy chief said of the police, Katie Blackwell.

The suspect was injured and died at the scene, police said. Police found two men shot to death in apartment; one was dead and the other “seriously injured,” authorities said.

Others were also injured, including a bystander in critical condition, a second police officer who was shot and not thought to be life-threatening, and a city firefighter who was also shot. nor are his days in danger.

“Today is a devastating day for the city of Minneapolis,” Mayor Jacob Frey said at a news conference.

The officer who was killed, Jamal Mitchell, was a father who was engaged, police said. He had been with the police for about a year and a half.

Mitchell was “ambushed” while trying to provide medical assistance after arriving at the scene, said Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

“What I can tell you is that Officer Mitchell was trying to help the individual who shot him – and it happened very quickly and he ambushed him,” he said. Evans said.

Evans said the investigation is preliminary and officials will provide more information later. “Exactly what happened will make a lot more sense in the coming days,” he said.

The slain suspect has not been publicly identified. The motive and what led to the shooting were unclear.

After Mitchell was shot, a second officer arrived and exchanged gunfire with the suspect, killing him, officials said. This officer was also shot and injured.

Cory Jones told NBC affiliate KARE in Minneapolis that he was heading to a recovery meeting in the area when he “heard several gunshots.”

“I ended up behind a tree and then I saw the officer on the ground and then a guy lying by the car,” Jones told the station. “And I sat behind that tree until they finished shooting.”

The officer was unconscious in the street and another person was near a car, said Jones, of South Minneapolis.

Around 6:45 p.m., police posted on X that two officers were injured and others were also injured during an active incident in the Whittier neighborhood.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said the that she was “devastated to learn that the MPD officer was killed and another was seriously injured this evening while working to keep our community safe.”

She called it a tragedy and said she and her husband were praying for the families of the two officers and everyone else affected by the violence.

Gov. Tim Walz said the Minnesota State Patrol was sent to assist police. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said its agents were responding to “an active shooting scene.”

Walz said news conferences about injured officers and funerals “cannot be the norm.”

“It’s really hard work. It’s a really tough job, and it’s really tough with a lot of guns on the street,” Walz said, adding that police should be supported and have everything they need to protect themselves and their communities.

“My deepest condolences and absolute commitment that this cannot be the norm,” he said.