Minneapolis police officer injured in shooting, 4 suspects arrested

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A Minneapolis police officer was shot Friday night while pursuing a suspect vehicle believed to have been involved in a robbery.

The Minneapolis Police Department said the seven-year veteran was attempting to locate a vehicle that had fled from Brooklyn Park officers the day before and was allegedly involved in a robbery near 36th and Queen Avenue North. The officer found the vehicle around 9:15 p.m. near the 4300 block of Colafax Avenue North and started following in his unmarked squad car. 

Someone then fired at least 14 shots from an automatic weapon toward the officer's unmarked squad car. The officer was struck in the back of the shoulder and drove to the intersection of Fremont Avenue North and Webber Parkway, where he was transported to the hospital by other officers. He suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was hospitalized.

However, the officer left the hospital a few hours later as fellow officers gathered outside, clapping and showing their support. 

Additional responding officers found the suspect vehicle again and attempted to make a stop when the driver fled. MPD officers and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office deputies pursued the driver until the suspect vehicle crashed near 21st Avenue and Upton Avenue North, police said. 

Authorities arrested two 19-year-old men, a 19-year-old woman, and a juvenile. The two men and juvenile were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. One of the men suffered an injury from a sheriff's K-9 during the apprehension. 

Law enforcement said they recovered a ghost gun from the crashed vehicle and are running tests to see if it's the same firearm used in the shooting. Authorities do not know who fired the weapon or if they knew they were shooting at a police officer. No charges have been filed as of Saturday afternoon. 

"This incident underscores the incredible courage and bravery that all of our officers display as they don the MPD uniform in defense of our city. MPD officers put their lives on the line every day to protect each and every community member, not knowing what each day of that service may bring," said MPD Chief Brian O’Hara. "We are extremely thankful and relieved that this officer is still with us. Thanks to the work of his MPD and law enforcement family, we have protected one of our own and we’ve taken four more potentially dangerous criminals off the street."

Mayor Jacob Frey and Chief O'Hara press conference

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Chief O'Hara held a press conference Saturday afternoon discussing Friday night's shootings including the MPD officer who was shot along with another shooting in south Minneapolis in which one person was killed and six others injured. 

"This kind of gun violence holds no place in our community," Frey said about the shootings but emphasized overall gun violence in the city has dropped this year. "We are seeing numbers that we have not seen since before the pandemic, and we're rivaling some of the best numbers we've seen in the last several decades. We're making progress, but we're not there yet."

You can watch the full press conference in the player below.