MINNEAPOLIS — A shooting late Monday evening left one person dead and five others injured near a south Minneapolis Metro Transit station, police confirmed.
The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. near the intersection of 17th and Franklin Avenues. Upon arriving at the scene, Minneapolis police said they found six people wounded by gunfire.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told media Tuesday afternoon this was a mass shooting event. He told reporters that when officers arrived, people at the site prevented them from giving life-saving care, and assistance from other law enforcement groups were called to help to control the crowd.
One woman died from her injuries after she was transported to Hennepin Healthcare, according to Minneapolis police. A man is in critical condition, and two men and two women received non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
“There are unhoused individuals who are sleeping underneath the bridge at that location; however, it is unknown what relationship the people shot, the people involved with this shooting have with the encampment at that location," O'Hara said.
In a press release, officers said there was an unruly crowd of more than 20 people. O'Hara told media a handgun was recovered, but also said he is unsure if that gun was involved in the shooting.
Now, authorities are trying to determine the sequence of events that led up to the shooting.
Chief O'Hara said the shooting happened at a homeless encampment on property that is owned by Metro Transit and Hennepin County. He said police are not the answer to the unhoused problem, but the area needs to be safe for those who live there.
He said MPD has identified six major encampments in Minneapolis, but the one near Franklin and 17th Avenues was not one of them this year.
“It’s staggering number of crimes that happen at these locations considering this is a really small piece of geography we’re talking about," he said.
According to MPD, within one to two blocks of these encampments there have been two homicides, eight shootings, 28 aggravated assaults, 17 robberies, and 71 Shotspotter calls.
He said he wants the area to be safe and understands the concerns neighbors have with the area.
“I’ve been there, I have walked a lot of these neighborhoods, I have heard these concerns myself from residents and they should not have to deal with it," he said.
That stretch of Franklin Avenue had a lot going on Monday night. Fifteen minutes before the shooting, Minneapolis Fire crews responded to the area to free an adult whose legs were pinned between the light rail train and platform, according to a post on X.
Power to the light rail was shut down for the rescue and the trapped person was transported to the hospital for treatment. Their condition is unknown.