Minneapolis mass shooting: Full timeline revealed
BCA update on Minneapolis mass shooting: Full news conference
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shared an update on its investigation into the downtown Minneapolis mass shooting.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota BCA has provided a full timeline of Wednesday's mass shooting in Minneapolis that they now say began with a domestic dispute outside the apartment building and ended in an exchange of gunfire with officers.
Loring Towers shooting
The backstory:
Police said the first shots were reported around 4:30 p.m. at Loring Towers, a high-rise apartment at 15 East Grant Street near the convention center.
Local perspective:
At least three officers were injured during the initial shooting response. One officer was shot in the stomach, another once in the leg. A third officer was evaluated for a non-life-threatening injury.
During the news conference on Thursday, the BCA confirmed the injured officers' identities as: Joseph Michnowski and Yayhe Ahmed.
Mayor Frey said Officer Ahmed was being released from the hospital on Thursday afternoon. Officer Michnowski remains in the hospital undergoing treatment.
The third officer that was injured was treated and released on Wednesday. He suffered cuts from glass after breaking out a squad window.
Dig deeper:
Officials also identified the residents that were killed as Dale Henry Spry, 63, and Muse A. Afrah, 61.
Mayor Frey said Thursday afternoon that most residents have now been allowed back into the building with the exception of the ninth floor, where most of the violence took place.
Minneapolis mass shooting: Timeline released by authorities
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shared details on the downtown Minneapolis mass shooting, identifying some of the officers who were injured, as well as the other victims involved.
Timeline of shooting
Timeline:
During the news conference, BCA Superintendent Drew Evans laid out a timeline of the shooting. The incident began the Loring Tower/Shoreline Plaza apartments.
- Incident begins: The suspect shoots a woman – with whom he had a prior relationship – outside the building during a custody exchange of a child believed to belong to the suspect.
- Inside building: The suspect enters the building and shoots a person who works at the facility at close range, then shoots a second worker at the facility. Evans noted investigators currently have "no indication that he was targeting them specifically."
- Moves upstairs: The suspect takes an elevator up to the ninth floor, where he has an apartment.
- On ninth floor: The suspect shoots and kills two people on the ninth floor who died from their injuries and are believed to be residents. Evans stated officials have "no information to believe" they were specifically targeted versus encountered.
- Police Response: Law enforcement arrives "very quickly after the call was aired out." Officers hear gunfire and follow the sound up to the ninth floor using the stairway.
- Police confrontation: Responding officers encountered the suspect on the ninth floor where there were two exchanges of gunfire.
- Suspect killed: The suspect dies on the ninth floor in the exchange of gunfire with police.
Quick police response
What they're saying:
Mayor Frey later hailed the quick response by officers.
"Every day, Minneapolis police officers respond to calls, not knowing exactly what they were going to encounter," said Frey. "The level of heroism that took place yesterday is practically unrivaled. The heroic nature that our cops exhibited deserves not just our greatest thanks but also a deep understanding that these are the kind of dangers that they face day-in and day-out. Their actions help protect their neighbors. Their actions undoubtedly saved lives."
"I want to point out how quickly they got there," added Frey. "So it was 44 seconds after a phone call that dispatch already had a squad car en route. It was a minute and 42 seconds from the time that the police officers were dispatched that they then went into the building. So one minute and 42 seconds from the moment when they were alerted that there was potentially an active shooting taking place, they were walking through the door. It was two minutes and 26 seconds from the time that that first call came in that they were entering a building with great danger."
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Who was the suspect?
Dig deeper:
Sources confirmed the shooter, who also died during the incident, was 35-year-old Carlton Neal Johnson II.
Johnson, who lived on the ninth floor, was facing eviction from the Loring Towers after he made concerning verbal statements about using a firearm to a security officer last June. The man denied the allegations cited in the eviction proceedings, and a court hearing was scheduled for Sept. 11.
Big picture view:
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty detailed a previous incident involving Johnson and a gun.
During the incident, police said Johnson flashed his gun at another person. The case was reviewed by the county attorney's office but not charged.
According to Moriarty, an experienced prosecutor reviewed the case and determined "that the case likely could not be charged due to insufficient evidence to prove a charge beyond a reasonable doubt."
Moriarty said Johnson had a legal permit to carry, and the gun was displayed but never left his waistband.
The case was also flagged for an Extreme Risk Protection Order – which would have led to Johnson's losing his gun. However, Moriarty said a review of that also found "insufficient evidence" to move forward with a petition.