Minneapolis officer released from hospital after being shot

The Minneapolis police officer who was shot Saturday morning while responding to a burglary call in north Minneapolis has been discharged from North Memorial Medical Center, hospital workers said Sunday.

Officer Jordan Davis was taken by his partner to the hospital in Robbinsdale Saturday morning following what Minneapolis police say was a targeted ambush of the officer in the 1100 block of 24th Avenue N.

Police arrested Andrew J. Neal, 43, on a charge of violating probation, probable-cause burglary and probable-cause domestic aggravated assault. No charges have been filed regarding the shooting.

A nurse at North Memorial said Davis had been discharged; an operator at the hospital said she believes the officer was released Saturday evening.

Two officers had just finished handling the call in the Jordan neighborhood when Davis was shot while standing outside their squad car, police said.

"It was right next to us," an officer is heard saying on a police audio from the scene. "We did not see anybody. It came out of nowhere."

The tenant who reported the early-morning burglary spoke on condition of anonymity for fear for her safety. She said Neal had smashed in her kitchen window with a hammer. A friend was able to chase Neal, whom she knows, off the property with a pocket knife, she said.

Neal was arrested about 1:30 p.m. Saturday at a home at 1119 Logan Av. N., after the address was surrounded by a SWAT team and other officers. Police were still investigating the link between the domestic incident and the shooting and declined to say whether Neal was the suspect in the shooting.

He has ­previously served time in prison for first-degree assault and has an extensive arrest record.

Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau met with the injured officer and his family at the hospital. "There is little doubt that an officer was the intended target of this shooting and that this officer just happened to be the one who was there," she said in a statement.

A 2008 graduate of the police academy, Davis is a patrol officer from the Fourth Precinct. He was recognized by the department as a "DWI All-Star" in 2013 for making 110 DWI arrests.

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges called the shooting "a cowardly act."

Police dogs were seen searching nearby garages and alleys for the suspect.

Ron Edwards, a member of a community committee recently created by Harteau, said efforts were made by North Side residents to get the gunman to surrender to prevent further violence.

Nearby resident Derrick Neal wandered over to the scene to see what had ­happened. Neal was relieved when he saw his 20-year-old brother, who had been in the area visiting a friend, on one of the city buses where police were holding residents whose houses were being cleared in the search for the gunman.

"I'm feeling sad because this is our community. I know a lot of stuff has been happening with black people and police and stuff, but people have gotta grow up," Neal said.

Staff writers Libor Jany and Liz Sawyer contributed to this report.