Memorial service held for Minneapolis police officer who responded to a shooting call and was killed

Sign up for our breaking news emails to get free, real-time breaking news straight to your inbox.

Sign up for our free emails with breaking news

A Minneapolis police officer who was killed at the scene of a shooting by a man he was trying to help will be remembered at a public ceremony on Tuesday.

Investigators say police officer Jamal Mitchell was shot and killed May 30 in an ambush. They said he was responding to a call about a double shooting and tried to help a man he thought was injured. That man then shot Mitchell multiple times. Three other people, including the shooter, were killed.

Mitchell was with the Minneapolis Police Department for about 18 months. Tori Myslajek, Mitchell’s longtime partner, said Mitchell’s greatest joys were his four children.

“Our family is completely devastated by our recent loss. Jamal was our entire world,” Myslajek said in a statement. “Jamal and I built a beautiful life in Minnesota, and he was deeply passionate about helping and serving the Minneapolis community. On behalf of our family and from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank our friends, neighbors, loved ones and the entire community for their continued support.”

The memorial service was planned for Tuesday morning at a high school in Maple Grove, Minnesota. Thousands of police officers from across the state, region and country are expected to attend the service, a police department spokesman said.

Mitchell’s killing shocked a department that has struggled to fill its ranks since the murder of George Floyd and the unrest that followed. It also heightened the state’s trauma that public safety officers died while rushing to help people in distress, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said. Mitchell was killed three months after two officers and a firefighter-paramedic were shot in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville while responding to a domestic violence call.

In the May attack, officers responded to a call about a double shooting at an apartment complex in the south Minneapolis neighborhood of Whittier. Mitchell was the first to respond, approaching 35-year-old Mustafa Mohamed outside. When the officer asked if Mohamed was injured, Mohamed pulled out a gun and shot Mitchell several times.

Another officer arrived and exchanged gunfire with Mohamed, who died from his injuries, said Minneapolis Deputy Police Chief Katie Blackwell. The second officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Another person, believed to be a bystander, was shot and taken to a hospital in critical condition. A firefighter who came to help also suffered minor injuries.

Authorities said two people were shot inside the apartment: Osman Said Jimale, 32, and Mohamed Aden, 36. Jimale died inside the apartment. Aden died Friday from multiple gunshot wounds, the Hennepin County coroner’s office said Sunday.

Few details have been released about the first shooting, and investigators did not speculate on Mohamed’s motives. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, he had been convicted of a federal weapons offense and was released from prison in 2020. About two years later, he was arrested again with a handgun. Arrest warrants were issued after he failed to appear for a hearing.

Mitchell was previously praised by Minneapolis police for rescuing an elderly couple from a house fire on his third day on the job. In a statement after the shooting, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called Mitchell a hero.

“This officer made the ultimate sacrifice to protect and save the lives of others,” Frey said. “His life, his service and his name will forever be remembered in the city of Minneapolis.”