Tensions rise in Minneapolis after police fatally shoot suspect

Tensions emerged in Minneapolis on Thursday evening after police fatally shot a suspect while attempting to serve an arrest warrant.

Members of a U.S. Marshals task force were attempting to apprehend an individual wanted on a state warrant for possession of a firearm by a felon at around 2:10 p.m., according to a statement from the U.S. Marshall Service shared with The Hill by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.

During the incident, the subject, who was in a parked car, “failed to comply and produced a handgun resulting in task force members firing upon the subject,” the statement said.

Task force members attempted to perform life-saving measures, but the suspect was pronounced dead that the scene.

A female occupant in the car was treated for minor injuries resulting from glass debris.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is leading the investigation into this incident.

The shooting was the latest in the city that is still on edge about law enforcement-involved killings since the murder of George Floyd last year at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. The incident sparked months of protest across the country, as well as renewed calls to examine police brutality.

Chauvin was seen on video kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, and Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The former officer was convicted on murder and manslaughter charges for the incident after a monthlong trial and is awaiting sentencing.

After Thursday’s shooting, a crowd gathered at the scene, according to WCCO. Two peace activist groups were also present to de-escalate conflicts.

Most of the crowd left by 6 p.m., according to the news outlet. But just after 9:15 p.m., a crowd returned — and people pulled down crime scene tape and dragged a dumpster into the middle of the busy street and set it on fire.

A spokesperson for the The Minneapolis Police Department confirmed that the department was not involved in Thursday’s incident. 

Officers from the Hennepin, Anoka and Ramsey County sheriff’s offices were involved, as well as officers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Updated 10:49 a.m.