A man and a woman were killed in separate incidents late Friday and early Saturday in south Minneapolis — marking a significant increase in violence in the city so far this weekend.
Police said a man was found shot at 11:40 p.m. Friday on the 2700 block of Blaisdell Avenue S. He was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died about 2:45 a.m..
Then at 2:20 a.m. Saturday, police found a woman with a stab wound on a sidewalk near E. Franklin Avenue and 4th Avenue S. She died about 3:45 a.m. at the same hospital.
Early Sunday, the victims were identified by the Hennepin County medical examiner's office: Kenneth Madison, 53, of Minneapolis, and Nanette Marie Haghi, 46, who had no permanent address.
In both incidents, police said the suspects fled the scene before officers arrived. No arrests have been made, police spokesman John Elder said.
"This is something we don't normally see … two homicides overnight," he said, adding that since the July 4th weekend, homicide rates have remained low in Minneapolis. "Then all of a sudden, we have a couple in one night. In the summer, there's always the uptick and then it goes down."
In addition to the fatal incidents, Elder said a man was injured after being shot in the torso about 4 a.m. Saturday following an apparent argument near a Cub Foods on the city's North Side. The man was in his car and three shots were fired from another car carrying three people, Elder said.
The victim was able to pull over and call 911 and was taken to North Memorial Medical Center for treatment, Elder said, but his injuries don't appear to be life-threatening. The police assault team is investigating the incident, he said.
