Police search for suspect after man shot dead at Mpls. apartment

Minneapolis police on Thursday were searching for the culprit in the shooting death of a 49-year-old man inside his Harrison neighborhood apartment.

The victim, whose name was not released, was found in a ground-floor unit at 1618 Glenwood Avenue N. by officers conducting a welfare check, police said.

Police are waiting for results of an autopsy, expected in the next few days, to determine when the slaying occurred.

The man was found about 9:30 a.m. by officers after his landlord grew concerned and called police, officer Corey Schmidt said Thursday.

Authorities declined to discuss the investigation further, saying it could compromise the probe.

"It would be unfair for me to assume that the victim knew" his assailant, Schmidt told reporters at a midday briefing.

Police wouldn't comment on whether the man was shot inside apartment No. 1 even though the front door was peppered with seven gunshots, according to police scanner traffic.

Several neighbors reported hearing gunshots about 2:30 a.m.

The secured-entrance building is run by Project for Pride in Living (PPL), a nonprofit that helps lower-income residents find jobs and housing. A spokeswoman for the organization declined to comment on Thursday.

Four homicide detectives spent most of the morning scouring the victim's unit, as well as the building's perimeter for any clues. Later in the morning, police officers congregated in front of the apartment building, where yellow police tape was strung along the front. Shortly before noon, an officer walked over and joined a prayer circle led by Pastor Harding Smith and neighborhood activist KG Wilson.

One neighbor, who declined to give her name for fear of retaliation, said that she had noticed a rise in drug dealing in and around the property in recent weeks, prompting her to complain to management that people were propping the front door open and going in and out at all times of the night.

She said that the victim, whom she knew simply as "Michael," had been quiet and reserved.

The woman said the sound of gunshots roused her from bed early Thursday morning. Glancing out of her window, she saw a man rifling through the back seat of a vehicle before driving away.

The homicide, the city's 31st of the year, occurred along a stretch of Glenwood full of apartments and thriving businesses, including two cafes, a nail salon, church and the Venture North bike and coffee shop.

The Harrison neighborhood west of downtown is relatively free of violent crime. The previous homicide there took place in February 2013. Robert A. Young, 35, was found by police stabbed in his home in the 2000 block of Glenwood Avenue. An arrest was made in the case, but no formal charges were filed.

Star Tribune staff writer Liz Sawyer contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482