Man killed by Minneapolis police fired rifle first, Minnesota BCA says

A north Minneapolis man who was shot and killed by police during an armed confrontation Sunday fired a rifle at officers first, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said Wednesday.

The BCA also identified the nine officers involved in the shooting.

Chiasher Fong Vue, 52, died of gunshot wounds after the standoff outside his home in the 3100 block of N. Thomas Avenue.

According to the BCA, officers were called to Vue's home shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday to check on a report of gunfire inside the house. A 911 caller said Vue was carrying a knife and shooting a gun inside the home.

Police contacted Vue by phone with the help of an interpreter and tried to persuade him to leave the home.

Vue appeared briefly at the front door and then returned with a rifle, the BCA said. He raised his rifle in the doorway and shot at officers, who returned fire, striking Vue.

He was pronounced dead at North Memorial Health Hospital. No officers were injured.

One family member, who remained inside the home but was not injured during the incident, was taken to North Memorial for an unrelated condition. The family identified this person as Vue's 70-year-old mother.

Before the BCA announcement, it was not clear whether Vue shot at officers. During a vigil outside the home Tuesday night, family members and community leaders questioned why police fired so many shots. The house was pierced with dozens of bullet holes, each marked with tape as police evidence.

Vue's family remembered him as a "giving man" who would help anyone "without hesitation." He was a shaman for 13 years and the father of seven children and the eldest of five siblings, his family said.

Community leaders have demanded that authorities release footage from police body cameras.

The BCA said body cameras captured portions of the incident, and officers recovered a rifle from the spot where Vue was shot.

The BCA has identified the nine Minneapolis police officers who fired their weapons during the confrontation. Eight of them fired their service handguns, while one shot a less-lethal weapon. Their experience on the force ranges from five to 15 years.

Sgt. Troy Carlson and officers Donnell Crayton, Kyle Pond, Andrew Reed, Travis Williams, Aaron Womble, Toua Yang, Jason Wolff and Daniel Ledman have been placed on standard administrative leave.

Reed discharged the less-lethal weapon.

Wolff was involved in another officer-involved shooting in August, when he shot and killed 32-year-old Mario Benjamin in north Minneapolis.

Benjamin had shot and wounded his girlfriend during a domestic dispute in front of her children and was kneeling next to her when police arrived, authorities said. Wolff shot Benjamin after repeatedly ordering him to drop his weapon.

Ledman was on the scene of an officer-involved shooting in 2011 but did not fire his weapon.

The BCA is still investigating the incident. The department will conduct its own review of the shooting to determine whether any of the officers involved violated internal policy.

Vue is the 14th person this year to die from an encounter with law enforcement officers in Minnesota, according to a Star Tribune database.

It's the highest number of deaths in any year dating back to 2000.