A volley of gunfire erupted outside the New Hope City Council meeting Monday night when a man shot at a group of police officers, injuring two of them.
Gunman injures two police officers, then is fatally shot in New Hope
Video of the council meeting records audio of a volley of gunshots, panic and confusion. A council member can be heard to say "that went right through the door!" and "somebody got shot!" Someone else yells, "Everybody get down!"
January 27, 2015 at 4:56PM
Officers returned fire, killing the man.
The two injured officers were in good condition in the hospital, said Hennepin County Chief Deputy Mike Carlson. They are expected to survive.
The bizarre and shocking event began shortly after two new officers, Joshua Eernisse and Adam Johnson, were sworn in during the City Council meeting that began about 7 p.m. The officers along with others who attended the ceremony walked out of the chambers about 7:15 p.m. A man with a "long gun" shot at the officers, Carlson said.
"Two officers were struck. Other officers were able to return fire, subsequently killing the suspect," Carlson told reporters in a briefing shortly before 10 p.m. in the parking lot of a nearby shopping center.
Inside the chambers, a video of the ongoing City Council recorded the sound of a gunshot, followed by five or six additional shots.
A council member is heard swearing, then someone yells, "Get down, get down, everybody get down." Someone else shouts, "That went right through the door!" and "Somebody got shot!"
New Hope City Council Member John Elder, a former police officer and currently a public information officer for the Minneapolis Police Department, appears in the video, behind the council desk with his gun drawn and pointed toward the door to the chambers. The audio on the video then goes silent.
Elder and others were eventually escorted to safety nearby.
Carlson said authorities are not looking for any other suspects. The gunman's identity will be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.
Police said they could offer no other details Monday night.
Staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report.
Mary Lynn Smith • 612-673-4788
![The scene outside the New Hope Police Department on Xylon Ave. N. late Monday night. A New Hope Police Reservist outside the police department on his way into the building. ] JEFF WHEELER • jeff.wheeler@startribune.com Shortly after a swearing-in ceremony at New Hope City Hall, two New Hope police officers were shot and wounded by a man with a rifle Monday night, January 26, 2015. Both officers are expected to survive their injuries.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/YTL7JU6QHH7XUM72R7KCDTLOLA.jpg?&w=712)
![Hennepin County Sherrif's perosonnel outside the New Hope Police Department on Xylon Ave. N. late Monday night. ] JEFF WHEELER • jeff.wheeler@startribune.com Shortly after a swearing-in ceremony at New Hope City Hall, two New Hope police officers were shot and wounded by a man with a rifle Monday night, January 26, 2015. Both officers are expected to survive their injuries.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/AI6LSZJJ2YU5SLZMNI33K2IO6I.jpg?&w=712)
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