4 Displaced in Minneapolis Fire as Police Probe Nearby Shooting

Oct 24

Minneapolis police and fire officials are investigating a shooting and a separate apartment fire that happened within minutes of each other Thursday night.

According to police, Fourth Precinct officers were already in the area when they heard gunfire near the 3300 block of Penn Avenue North.

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They found a man suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. Paramedics transported him to North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale for treatment. Initial information indicates the man was in the area when shots were fired and realized he had been struck.

At roughly the same time, Minneapolis Fire crews were dispatched around 10:48 p.m. to a residential fire at a two-story four-plex at 3245 Penn Avenue North. Crews arrived to find heavy smoke and fire coming from a first-floor apartment. Firefighters rescued an unconscious adult male from inside, but officials said he could not be located once EMS arrived to evaluate him.

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Crews extinguished the fire and completed searches of the building. No other injuries were reported. The structure was heavily damaged by fire and water, deemed uninhabitable, and boarded up. The Red Cross was called to assist four displaced residents.

Investigators from both the Minneapolis Police Department and Fire Department are working to determine whether the shooting and fire are connected. No arrests have been made and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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