MINNEAPOLIS – Five teenage boys and three adults injured in shooting
Five teenage boys and three adults were injured Sunday in a shooting in south Minneapolis, the neighborhood’s second mass shooting in just nine days.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara says it happened just before 6 p.m. near the intersection of East Franklin and Chicago avenues in the Ventura Village neighborhood of the Phillips community.
O’Hara says Metro Transit police officers heard gunfire and responded to the scene, followed by Minneapolis police officers. They found three teenage boys suffering from leg wounds in front of Minneapolis Market
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While officers were treating the victims, another injured boy approached them, who had a graze wound to his shoulder. Those four victims — all between the ages of 15-17 — were soon taken to HCMC, where three adult victims soon arrived on foot. One of those victims is an 18-year-old man, and the other two are a woman and a man in their 40s, according to O’Hara.
A 16-year-old boy also showed up to Children’s Minnesota hospital with a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
DEVELOPING: Multiple people have been shot in Minneapolis near Peavey Park at Franklin & Chicago Avenue. MPD Chief Brian O’Hara is expected to share more information in 20 mins or so, we’re told. @WCCO pic.twitter.com/VZL2aJa2Mw
— Kirsten Mitchell (@Kirsten_TV) August 21, 2023
O’Hara says the victims told investigators they heard gunshots, but didn’t see where they came from.
At least 41 shell casings were found by police one block east at Franklin and Elliot avenues. A nearby residence also sustained damage from two bullets.
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O’Hara says they believe two gunmen wearing hoodies, armed with at least one assault weapon, fled northbound on Elliot Avenue on foot. He says they have some leads and are reviewing several security cameras in the area. The ATF is assisting with the investigation.
“This location has been a hot spot for criminal activity in the past, so we do not have any information to indicate this would’ve been random at this time, however the investigation is in its early stages.” O’Hara said.
On Aug. 11, a mass shooting outside of the punk music house venue Nudieland, located less than a mile southeast of Franklin and Chicago, left one person dead and six others hurt.