Minneapolis Man Wanted After Downtown Machete Attack
BY MN CRIME STAFF
A Minneapolis man is accused of attacking one person with a machete and threatening another during a downtown assault this fall, though he remains missing despite an active warrant now tied to the case.
The charges were filed this week and outline a violent confrontation on Sept. 5 that left one person with head and hand wounds.
According to the court documents, Minneapolis police were dispatched to 8th Street South on Sept. 5 after callers reported a stabbing. Officers were told that one person had been struck in the head and hands with a machete and that a second person had been threatened during the same incident. The first victim told officers he had been hit five times.
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Security staff directed police to the suspect, later identified as 56-year-old Shawn Coates, who was detained around the corner. Officers searched him and found a large machete style knife hidden in his pants. Coates refused to get into a squad car on his own and had to be lifted into the vehicle by several officers. Police reported that he was agitated, tried pulling away from officers, ignored commands and appeared unsteady with glassy, bloodshot eyes.
Coates is charged with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and threats of violence. The assault charge carries up to seven years in prison or a fine of as much as $14,000. The threats of violence charge carries up to five years or a $10,000 fine. The complaint notes a minimum sentence of one year and one day on the assault count if convicted.
FILE | Coates’ crashed pickup at Fire Station 9 in 2022.
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Prosecutors also cited Coates’ prior conviction for threatening violence in a January 2022 incident at Minneapolis Fire Station 8. Court records show the case began when a woman sought protection from Coates on a freezing night and ran to firefighters for help. Firefighters told police that after the woman went inside, Coates drove into the station’s parking lot, revved his rear-wheel drive truck, tried to hit a firefighter who was standing outside and then turned toward the building. He drove his truck into the station’s garage doors, forcing the firefighter to move behind a pillar to avoid being struck. Firefighters used axes and other tools to disable the vehicle before Coates got out and walked into the station.
Inside the station, Coates squared up to a fire captain before firefighters took him to the ground. Officers reported that once he was placed in a squad car he kicked the door and repeatedly hit his head on the partition. Deputies later said several jail staff were needed to restrain him once he was brought inside for booking.
Coates pleaded guilty to threatening violence in that case. Three other charges tied to assaults on firefighters and property damage were dismissed. He was later given a stay of imposition, meaning the felony would be reduced to a misdemeanor if he completed probation. Records show he served 46 days in the Hennepin County Workhouse in connection with the case and was ordered to serve two additional weeks during a March 2025 hearing.
The sentence included anger management, cognitive skills training, chemical health conditions, restitution, no contact orders and a lifetime prohibition on possessing firearms or ammunition. He remains on probation and was on probation at the time of the machete offenses.
The new complaint filed this week states Coates is not in custody and his current location is unknown. Prosecutors requested a warrant due to the seriousness of the charges and to ensure he appears in court. If you have any information, call your local authorities.
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