String of shootings in Minneapolis leaves 2 dead, including 16-year-old boy
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Three shootings occurred within six hours in Minneapolis between Thursday night and Friday morning, leaving two people dead, including a 16-year-old boy, and seven others injured by gunfire.
Plymouth Avenue North
First, at 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Minneapolis officers responded to Plymouth Avenue North and Knox Avenue for a report of shots fired. At the scene, officers found the 16-year-old boy with life-threatening injuries.
Despite efforts from first responders, the boy died shortly after arriving at the hospital. Minneapolis police spokesman Garrett Parten says investigators are still trying to determine what led to the shooting.
"It's a beautiful fall night, and we have a 16-year-old shot in the street," Parten said. "It's a level of violence that is not only concerning but angering. It disrupts a community even more. It causes lots of people to wonder when is the violence going to stop."
Minneapolis Police make emotional plea after night of violence
After a string of three shootings in Minneapolis between Thursday night and Friday morning left two people dead, including a teenage boy, Minneapolis Police spokesperson Garrett Parten gave an emotional plea to the public at a press conference.
Police say another person showed up at the hospital with injuries related to the shooting on Plymouth Avenue North. It's unclear exactly how that person was hurt, but police say they weren't shot.
Driveby shooting at a gas station
Then at 9:12 p.m. Thursday, officers heard gunfire and rushed to gas station at 626 West Broadway, which is about a mile from where the first shooting occurred. There, they encountered a man and a woman who both had non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, according to an MPD press release. First responders took both to the hospital.
Two men with life-threatening gunshot wounds from the same incident were dropped off at nearby hospitals – one at North Memorial Hospital and another at Hennepin Healthcare.
Police say the preliminary investigation indicates the gas station shooting occurred when gunfire erupted from an SUV which then sped away from the area.
On Friday morning, local activists took over the gas station at the corner of Broadway and Lyndale in north Minneapolis that was the scene of one of Thursday night's shootings.
They demanded an end to the violence that's plagued the area for years.
"It's time for the neighborhood and the community to stand up and take back their community...these victims are our kids...we are losing an entire generation to gun violence," said DonEsther Anderson of A Mother's Love, a local group dedicated towards ending gun violence.
"We went to one shooting up on Plymouth and Knox last night, and before we could even get there and get set up, they were sending us over here because shots had been fired," said Anderson.
A fight turns to gunfire at a local bar
Another fatal shooting occurred at 1 a.m. Friday at the Bullwinkle’s Saloon, a bar at 1429 South Washington Ave. Police say a fight inside the bar during a private party spilled out into the street and escalated into gunfire.
Responding officers encountered a man at the scene who had been shot. First responders took the man to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Police said two other men who had been hurt in the same incident were dropped off at hospitals. Police believe their injuries are not life-threatening.
Surveillance video shows a shootout happening inside and outside Bullwinkle's Saloon in the Seven Corners neighborhood of Minneapolis. You can hear more than two dozen shots being fired in the video.
Parten is asking anyone who has information that could aid the investigations to contact CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.CrimeStoppersMN.org.
Anyone who submits tips to CrimeStoppers will remain anonymous.