A man in his 50s is dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after he allegedly fired at police responding to a northeast Minneapolis home to investigate a 911 hang-up call.
Officers arrived at the house on the 3400 block of NE. 5th Street just before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The occupants inside, communicating with officers through a window, directed police to the rear of the house.
In a news conference Wednesday, Minneapolis Community Safety Commissioner Cedric Alexander said an officer heard a cry for help and entered the residence, then faced a man pointing a gun at him.
They exchanged gunfire. Alexander said he didn't know if the man was shot, but he said one officer, who he did not name, suffered minor injuries, possibly from shrapnel or debris.
A few minutes later, another person in the house told officers that the man with the gun had shot himself, Alexander said.
A woman, girl and boy inside the residence were able to get out as police went in and found the man with an apparent fatal gunshot wound lying on the floor. Officers also found a gun in the house, said Minneapolis police spokesman Howie Padilla.
Alexander described the people in the house as "young people," possibly family members of the shooter. "We believe those cries [for help] did come from one of those young people," he said.
Alexander said the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office will release the name of the deceased person along with the cause of death. He praised the officers for reacting quickly to a fast-moving situation with little information and in close quarters.
