What to know about the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis officer | News

The Minneapolis police officer shot and killed last week was an outgoing person who loved his job, his family said.

Officer Jamal Mitchell, 36, died in Thursday's shooting. Police said the man who shot him was 35-year-old Mustafa Mohamed. Responding officers killed Mohamed, and a state agency identified the officers Sunday.

Another shooting victim, Osman Said Jimale, 32, was later found dead in an apartment. Four other people, including one of the responding officers and a firefighter, were injured.

Here are a few things to know.

WHO WERE THE OFFICERS INVOLVED IN THE SHOOTING?

The officers who shot Mohamed were Nick Kapinos, who has 10 years of law enforcement experience, and Luke Kittock, who has nine years, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension , or BCA. Kapinos fired his service handgun and Kittock fired his service rifle, according to the release.

Both officers have been placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation, which is standard policy in police-involved shootings.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Officers responded to a call of a double shooting at an apartment complex. Mitchell was the first to arrive, BCA said. As he approached the complex, he told police radio he saw two injured men – Mohamed and a passerby – in the street.

Mitchell got out of his car and approached Mohamed, who was sitting next to a parked vehicle, BCA said. Mitchell asked Mohamed if he was injured and needed help.

“Without warning, Mohamed pulled out a handgun and shot Mitchell at point-blank range,” BCA said. “Mitchell fell to the ground, unable to act.”

Additional officers arrived and saw Mohamed continuing to shoot Mitchell, BCA said. As these officers approached, Mohamed began shooting at them, according to the agency.

Kapinos and Kittock fought back, hitting Mohamed several times, BCA said. He died at the scene. Mitchell died in hospital.

Kittock was injured in an exchange of gunfire and treated at a hospital. A Minneapolis firefighter was also treated for his injuries. The bystander who was shot is in critical but stable condition.

Investigators recovered a handgun with an extended magazine and several shell casings at the scene, BCA said. Officers review video from body-worn cameras and patrol cars.

When other officers went to the apartment, they found two people inside who had been shot. Jimale was dead and the other person was seriously injured.

WHO WAS KILLED?

Police have provided little information about Mohamed or Jimale.

Mitchell was a father who was engaged. He had been with the ministry for approximately 18 months.

The police department posted on Facebook last year that Mitchell and another officer saved an elderly couple from a house fire on Feb. 7, 2023, Mitchell's third day on the job. The post says Mitchell and Officer Zachery Randall ran inside and got the couple out before the home was completely engulfed in flames.

“I told him, 'You're one of the good ones, Jamal,'” close friend Allison Seed told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “They really needed him.”

Mitchell was outgoing, with a big smile and a penchant for trying to uplift those around him, his family said.

“If he sees someone in the corner with a pan, he's going to reach into his pocket and he's going to give in,” Janet Raper-Edwards, Mitchell's mother, told Minnesota Public Radio. “He just loved people.”

Rapper-Edwards said Mitchell had six siblings, including a twin.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

It is still unclear exactly what led to the shooting and the shooter's motivations. The link between the two filming locations remains unclear. Police said the people in the apartment “knew each other to some extent.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said authorities were still investigating and asked people “to be patient with us because we don't know all the facts yet. We want to make sure the investigation is complete and we Let’s run it the right way.” “