Minneapolis police chief: Man with brandished weapon shot by police

Minneapolis police officers shot and killed a man suspected of brandishing a gun in public in south Minneapolis on Wednesday night after police chased him on foot, according to Police Chief Brian O’Hara.

Shortly after 9 p.m., police received a 911 call from the 3000 block of 29th Avenue. Several people were concerned about a man they said was armed with a gun and talking to himself, O’Hara said at a late-night news conference at the intersection of 35th Street and Hiawatha Avenue S.

About 16 minutes later, a second 911 call came in from the 3400 block of Hiawatha, several blocks away from the first call.

The caller said he saw a man brandishing a gun and “acting irrationally,” O’Hara said.

Officers arrived in marked vehicles and then began pursuing the suspect on foot, the police chief said. Officers told the man they were police officers and ordered him to stop, but he did not obey, the police chief said.

At some point after the chase, a “confrontation” occurred, the police chief said, when officers again noticed that the man was armed.

O’Hara said officers repeatedly gave the order to drop the weapon.

Officers shot the man, who was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, the police chief said. Four officers responded to the 911 call, and three of them fired their weapons, O’Hara said.

The police chief said he did not know if the suspect fired his weapon, but said a gun had been recovered and that it “appeared to have jammed.”

O’Hara defended the officers’ decision to shoot the man, saying he believed it was justified and lawful.

“I am grateful that no one else in the community was harmed,” he said.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said early Thursday that the “use of force incident” was being investigated and that further information would be released once the investigation was complete.

Just before 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Metro Transit announced that Blue Line train service would be suspended between Franklin Avenue Station and 46th Street Station “due to police activity.” “Blue Line trains will reverse direction at these stations. Until the situation is resolved, trains will not operate to 38th St Station or Lake St Station,” Metro Transit’s warning said.

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