MPD forensic scientist shooting surveillance footage released showing ambush attack

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Surveillance video and other trial evidence has been released, capturing the attempted murder of Minneapolis Police Department forensic scientist Nicole Ford. 

The woman’s ex-partner Tim Amacher was recently sentenced to 18 years in prison for the murderous plot. Amacher’s then girlfriend, Colleen Larson, has pleaded guilty herself to pulling the trigger. 

The motive, a bitter custody dispute between Amacher and Ford, who share a young son. 

The terrifying ambush-style attack on Ford unfolded outside of what should have been a safe place for her – a supervised parenting center on University Avenue in Minneapolis.

But surveillance cameras in the area captured the hooded Larson, wearing a mask, sprinting up on Ford and opening fire as Ford got out of her SUV and headed towards the facility’s entrance.

Ford was shot in the neck and could barely speak when she called 911, believing she might not survive her injuries.

The jury in Amacher’s trial for aiding and abetting attempted first-degree premeditated murder, listened to that frantic call as Ford tried to just breathe and tell the dispatcher she was shot. 

Amacher was convicted for his role in the shooting. Larson did not testify at Amacher’s trial. But she has insisted, Amacher wanted Ford out of the picture, blaming Amacher for setting the plot in motion.

As for Ford, doctors thought at one point, she would never be able to speak again. But after a miraculous recovery, Ford delivered a victim impact statement at Amacher’s sentencing on Jan. 30.

"Every morning, I wake up, I am reminded by the physical scars on my body that mark the very terrifying experiences which led to fighting for my life this last year," Ford told the court. Ford was recently married. She was previously known as Nicole Lenway.

Larson, who is currently free on a $300,000 bond, despite an objection from the state, is scheduled to be formally sentenced on March 27.