July 4th holiday weekend ends with 7 people shot across Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A cluster of shootings at the tail end of the July 4th holiday period in Minneapolis left at least one young man dead and injured more than half a dozen.

The separate shootings unfolded in less than 12 hours in several different areas of the city – including downtown as well as the popular Eat Street along Nicollet Avenue South.

"It is important to recognize that the start of this month has been safer than all of the last six years going back to 2019, but that was not the case last night," said Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara. "Last night, unfortunately, we had seven people that were hit by bullets. One person was killed, a number of them were teenagers, which is always very concerning."

The fatal shooting occurred Sunday evening, just before 8:00 p.m. at 27th and Nicollet Avenue South, a stretch known as Eat Street for the many restaurants along Nicollet. Police report a verbal altercation that escalated into deadly gun violence. Said O’Hara, " We cannot prevent every single crime from occurring, particularly this type of community violence that is typical with shootings here, whether it is disputes and beefs that are ongoing."

It is the same exact corner where an innocent bystander was nearly killed three summers ago while walking home from one of the restaurants where she enjoyed an early dinner with a friend.

"I had no idea going to dinner that I would end up shot and almost dying, and my life was going to be changed forever," the woman previously told FOX 9’s Paul Blume.

She asked to conceal her identity at the time for safety and privacy concerns. A bullet from an exchange of gunfire between rival gangs at the corner, tore through the victim’s shoulder blade, ending up lodged in her jaw.

"I just started thinking about what kind of internal damage I could have and that I very possibly was dying," she told Blume during the earlier interview.

Meantime, Chief O’Hara expressed frustration and disappointment with the weekend gun violence after he said the city had no reported shooting victims over July 4, 5 and 6.

"One of the biggest contributors to this is just the number of guns on the street, the number of illegal guns that are out there," said O’Hara.

As for the other incidents involving gunfire, an early Monday morning shooting in a crowd downtown, near Augie’s around bar closing time, left three injured including two young men with life-threatening injuries.

Two more were hurt in a separate shooting at Dowling and Fremont Avenues North including a 17-year-old female who is fighting for her life.

Despite the grim 12-hour period, Chief O’Hara is convinced the city is trending in the right direction when it comes to reducing shootings across all corners of the city.

"People should not get carried away," concluded O’Hara. "You know, when we do have these incidents, that kind of cluster, it does happen. We live in a city. We live in a city and in a society that has lots of guns, these types of things will happen."

MPD reported an additional shooting where a 16-year-old boy showed up at HCMC early Monday morning in a stolen Kia with a gunshot wound. He was not cooperative, so investigators have no idea where it happened.

Chief O’Hara tells FOX 9, his team will process everything from the last few days, go over their safety plans, and figure out what the department can do better in terms of public safety going forward.

Teen killed after being shot in Whittier neighborhood

Officers responded to a shooting at 27th Street East and Nicollet Avenue just before 8 p.m. Sunday. 

According to authorities, once officers arrived at the scene, they were told a person who was injured by gunfire had been taken to a home on the 2600 block of 3rd Avenue South. There, officers found an 18-year-old man with life-threatening gunshot wounds. 

The victim was taken to the hospital, where he ultimately died, law enforcement said. 

Police believe an argument escalated the situation.

Minneapolis police are investigating this as a homicide. 

17-year-old found with serious gunshot wounds in car in north Minneapolis

A 17-year-old girl was found with serious injures in a car, and another man was injured in a north Minneapolis shooting on Sunday. 

According to authorities, officers responded to reports of a shooting just after 9:30 p.m. at Dowling Avenue North and Fremont Avenue North. At the scene, officers found a 17-year-old girl with possible life-threatening gunshot wounds in a car. She was taken to the hospital.

Minneapolis police say the teen was seated in the car in a parking lot when the shooting happened. A 30-year-old man arrived at the hospital with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, stating he came from the same scene. 

3 injured in downtown Minneapolis shooting

According to Minneapolis police, just after 2 a.m., officers also responded to a shooting near 5th Street North and Hennepin Avenue, where police found two men in their 20s with possible life-threatening gunshot wounds, and a woman in her 30s with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. 

Authorities say they believe that an altercation led to gunfire, and that shots were fired in the presence of a crowd.

Teen shows up at hospital after shooting

Shortly after 1:30 a.m., police were called to Hennepin County Medical Center for a 16-year-old boy who was dropped off in a stolen car after being shot.

The boy is expected to survive his injuries. The exact spot where the shooting occurred is unclear.