A man was shot to death Friday night in the first of at least two shootings in south Minneapolis.

Officers found the victim about 8 p.m. lying dead outside an apartment building in the 3200 block of Blaisdell Avenue S., according to police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer. The victim's identity and other information were not released.

Mary Van Briesen, 45, who lives near the apartment building, stood with her family outside watching police work at the scene, which she said is a three- or four-level apartment building called the ZOOM House that serves homeless and low-income people. "There are fights there all the time," Van Briesen said. She said she had called police about trouble at the building as recently as last week.

A short time after that shooting, police were called to another in the area of Columbus Avenue S. and 36th St. E., east of the first scene. There they found a man in his 30s with a gunshot wound to the leg. An officer at the scene said the two shootings are not thought to be related.

Anyone with information about either shooting is asked to call the Minneapolis police tips line at 612-692-8477.

JOY POWELL