Minneapolis police on Monday identified two officers involved in a fatal shooting early Saturday in south Minneapolis.

The officers who fired the shots that killed 40-year-old DelShawn Crawford Sr. in an apartment at 3017 19th Av. E. were Laura Turner and Chad Meyer, police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer said Monday in a news release.

Just before 2:15 a.m. Saturday, the two were among four patrol officers responding to reports of a domestic assault in the building, police said. 911 operators heard someone being told to put down a knife on the phone as officers headed to the scene.

When they arrived, they heard a woman screaming from a second-floor apartment. Initially refused entry to the unit, Turner and Meyer forced their way in and immediately were confronted by an man armed with a knife, police said. When he approached the officers and would not put down the knife, they "were forced to defend themselves and shot and killed the suspect," Palmer wrote.

Crawford, formerly of Gary, Ind., is the father of 15-year-old twin boys who live in the Twin Cities with his ex-wife.

He had just finished a prison term for felony domestic assault-strangulation and had a long record of domestic assault and other crimes, court records show.

Turner, a U.S. Army Reserve veteran, joined Minneapolis police as a cadet in January 1997 and has served on the overnight shift in the Third Precinct since 2009, police said. In 2004, she was awarded a Medal of Commendation for entering a burning home to search for a missing resident.

Meyer joined the Minneapolis Police Department in January 2008 after serving with the Chisago County Sheriff's Office. He has been assigned to the Third Precinct since October 2008, almost always on the overnight shift, police said.

In August 2008, he was nominated for a Medal of Valor and received a Medal of Commendation for his actions to capture an armed gang member.

In June 2009, he received a Medal of Valor for helping capture an armed suspect who pointed a handgun at four officers; in that incident, Meyer shot the 18-year-old suspect in the arm. Two months later, Meyer was awarded a Medal of Commendation for his actions to subdue an armed robbery suspect.

Meyer was nominated by the Third Precinct as 2009 Officer of the Year.

Both officers remain on standard paid administrative leave while the investigations by the Homicide and Internal Affairs Units continue.

Earlier, non-fatal shooting

Last month, another knife-wielding man was shot by police in south Minneapolis. On April 1, Robert John Yellow Wolf confronted a panhandler and assaulted a former girlfriend, who then called 911, according to police.

When officers arrived, Yellow Wolf refused to drop his knife and advanced toward an officer. The officer shot Yellow Wolf several times. Yellow Wolf, 43, of Minneapolis, suffered noncritical injuries.