Police: Drug deal gone wrong leads to deadly Minneapolis afternoon shooting

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is investigating a shooting that left a man dead in Minneapolis on Thursday.

What we know

Officers responded to reports of a shooting in the 4200 block of Penn Avenue North just before 4:20 p.m. 

Minneapolis police say they then found a man with fatal gunshot wounds in an alley between Penn Avenue North and Queen Avenue North.

That man reportedly died at the scene. 

Investigators say they "believe the dealing of illegal narcotics may have played a role" in the fatal shooting.

MPD adds that two men ran from the scene after "an interaction near the street escalated to gunfire." 

The man who was shot then ran west before collapsing in the alley, police say. 

What they're saying

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara released a statement saying, "Gunfire in the middle of a neighborhood in the middle of the afternoon is frustrating and unacceptable. This senseless violence is tragic and unfortunate, but I am confident our investigators will work hard to determine what happened and arrest those responsible."

A witness at the scene told a FOX 9 reporter "I was outside, I heard two shotgun blasts, I came out, I saw people down there, running different ways."

Another witness said, "I was sitting on my back porch, and I heard two shotgun shots, and after that, you heard a lot of 9-millimeter shots."

What we don't know

No arrests have been announced as of Thursday night and the Hennepin County Medical Examiner is expected to release the victim's name at a later date.