8 Shot at Minneapolis Homeless Encampment Near Lake Street

Sep 16

*Officers search a south Minneapolis encampment after a shooting left 8 hurt Monday night.* ***MN CRIME PHOTO***

Eight people were shot late Monday at a homeless encampment near East Lake Street and 28th Avenue South in Minneapolis.

Police say the gunfire erupted just after 10 p.m., with authorities confirming four victims with life-threatening injuries and four others with apparent non-life-threatening wounds.

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A Minneapolis police officer working off-duty at the nearby Target store was approached by people running in to say there had been gunfire outside. The officer went out and heard more shots coming from the encampment. Responding officers found multiple victims both in tents and outside the encampment.

A woman shot in the head and two men with critical injuries were among those discovered inside tents, police said. Another man had a life-threatening stomach wound, and additional victims were located with gunshot wounds to the leg, torso, and neck.

One man with a non-life-threatening injury walked into Children’s Hospital and was later transferred to Hennepin Healthcare. A woman with a graze wound went to Abbott Northwestern. Another man with gunshot wounds to the neck and torso was taken to Regions Hospital. In total, police confirmed three men and one woman with life-threatening injuries and four other victims with less severe wounds.

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MPD Chief Brian O’Hara said investigators collected multiple shell casings but noted the difficulty of searching through the debris in the encampment. At one point during the response, a tent caught fire, and fire crews were called to extinguish it. No arrests have been made, but investigators believe at least two shooters were involved and that gunfire was exchanged. Authorities are still working to determine the motive.

Mayor Jacob Frey said the city has been attempting to close the encampment for months but was blocked by the private property owner. The city had already initiated litigation to declare it a public health nuisance. Frey announced the encampment will be cleared as soon as the crime scene investigation is complete, calling it a danger to both residents and the surrounding neighborhood.

“This is horrible. It is tragic. And it is not surprising. We’re going to be clearing this immediately,” Frey said.

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Chief O’Hara said state troopers and sheriff’s deputies will assist Minneapolis police with patrols in the area following the shooting. He stressed that the department remains down roughly a third of its normal staffing while responding to what he described as a surge in violence.

Authorities emphasized that conditions inside encampments are unsafe and that addiction and drug trafficking are driving violence. As of publication, no suspects have been arrested and the investigation remains active. Authorities have not yet released the identities of those injured.

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