A police officer witnessed a shooting from one vehicle to another Friday evening — then watched the victims' car crash into a third car in a busy north Minneapolis neighborhood.

Nobody was critically injured or killed, said John Elder, a police spokesman.

"We have four people who are injured. One we know has a gunshot wound," he said. "The other three appear to have injuries sustained as a result of the motor vehicle crash."

Elder said police were looking for the suspects in the first vehicle, a dark-colored SUV, which fled the scene near Lowry and Knox avenues after gunshots came from it about 7:45 p.m.

One witness, who lives near the scene, said he heard as many as 16 or 17 shots and also a loud crash, then saw two teens running from the crash.

"They looked like they were running for their lives," he said, as his wife and 2-year-old daughter stood at his side.

Just before the shooting, the officer in a marked cruiser noticed two vehicles driving recklessly up Knox Avenue, Elder said. At the stop sign at Lowry and Knox, the shooter's SUV pulled alongside another sedan and opened fire, Elder said.

The driver of the car being fired upon then drove into the intersection trying to flee, only to have his car struck by a third car that was westbound on Lowry, he said.

The car that was fired upon tried to drive away after the collision, but broke down close to the crash, he said.

Officers were at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale and speaking with witnesses, piecing together details, including how many were in each car.

The officer noticed the oddity of two vehicles stopped side-by-side on a two-lane street at the stop sign and was probably going to initiate a traffic stop when he witnessed the shooting, Elder said.

"It's not common," he said of the officer becoming an eyewitness. "But it really does go to show that even if we had an officer on every corner, there are times shootings are going to happen. And to stop all of this violence, it's going to take more than simply the Police Department."

It's going to take the entire community, including school officials, spiritual leaders and religious organizations, working together, he said.

Joy Powell • 612-673-7750