The shooting death of a young man early Saturday shook up a quiet north Minneapolis street and marked the city's fifth homicide of the week and 24th of the year.
Walter Blakemore found yellow "Do Not Cross" tape outside his home after police were called to the 2500 block of Logan Avenue N. just after midnight on reports of gunshots.
"It's always been a quiet street," said Blakemore, who has lived in his home across the street from the scene for 10 years. "This is as quiet as it usually is, even at night."
The quiet was shattered Saturday when police found the young man, who was in his late teens or early 20s, dead from apparent gunshot wounds inside a multi-unit building. Another man in his mid-20s was taken to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale with gunshot wounds that weren't life-threatening.
No one who lives in the building would comment Saturday; neither would a man one person identified as the landlord.
The latest homicide scene is eight blocks north of where a 14-year-old was fatally shot two weeks ago, followed by another North Side fatal shooting of a 13-year-old.
"I don't know what's up with these little kids," Blakemore said. "It's like it's now natural when you hear a shooting."
Overall, however, violent crime on the North Side is down 16 percent this year from 2010, Minneapolis police Sgt. William Palmer said. Citywide, homicide, robbery, rape and other violent crime incidents are down 11.7 percent this year.
