MINNEAPOLIS — A 3-year-old boy is dead after police say shots were fired Monday afternoon inside a northeast Minneapolis home.
According to the Minneapolis Police Department, officers were called to the 2300 block of Jefferson Street Northeast at around 12:45 p.m. on a report of a 3-year-old being shot. When officers arrived, they found the boy with a gunshot wound and immediately rendered aid. Despite life-saving measures, police say the child died at the hospital.
MPD didn't have many details but said they're investigating what led up to the shots being fired.
"We are currently trying to figure out if a crime has been committed or if it's an accidental incident that has taken place," said MPD Assistant Chief Christopher Gaiters at a press availability Monday. "As we continue to investigate, we are looking for any indicators of how exactly this incident took place in the loss of a child's life, but at this time we don't have any solid answers and we hope to find that out as we continue the investigation."
Gaiters said he believed that the 911 call came from someone who was with the child but didn't provide any additional information about how the caller knew the child. It's unclear if there were any other children inside the home at the time the shots were fired.
"It's very early, obviously, but we want to know what has taken place — whether or not a person ... has intentionally done something or not — we'll let the investigation tell us what the outcome will be," Gaiters said. "At this point, we're merely trying to figure out exactly what happened."
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is released.