Two killed in separate shootings in Minneapolis

A man and a woman were killed in two separate shootings within a half hour of each other in Minneapolis on Wednesday night, authorities say.

Just before 9:30 p.m., a man in his 20s was found with gunshot wounds on the 2900 block of Emerson Avenue N. on the North Side, according to the Minneapolis Police Department. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at an overnight news conference it appears an argument escalated into gunfire, and at least two suspects fled on foot.

At about 9:50 p.m., a woman in her 30s was shot on a sidewalk on the 800 block of E. Franklin Avenue near Minneapolis Market, police said. She was found without a pulse and pronounced dead at the hospital.

A fight broke out among a group of people, O’Hara said, and “shots were fired.”

It’s not clear whether the victim was involved in that original scuffle. No further details were immediately available.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner later confirmed the victim’s identity as Samantha Twitty, 36.

As of Wednesday night’s shootings, there have been 63 homicides in Minneapolis in 2025. There were 75 at this point last year.

“In both cases [Wednesday], this appears to be altercations between specific people that then escalated to gunfire,” O’Hara said, noting that there’s no indication at this time that they are connected.

He called the clustered shootings “disturbing,” but emphasized that the total number of gunshot victims in Minneapolis is down by more than 330 this year compared to the high point in 2021, despite multiple mass shootings with high casualty counts. That continues a fourth-straight year of reductions in gun violence.

“Progress continues, but obviously progress is very fragile and there’s still work to do,” O’Hara said.

A few hours later – and about a mile south – a Minneapolis police officer fired his service pistol while responding to a 911 call about a gun pointing incident.

Uniformed officers arrived four minutes later and learned that the suspect was a neighbor, thought to be holed up inside his apartment.

“While they were outside, the suspect suddenly emerged from the residence with a handgun in his right hand,” O’Hara said, during a second late-night news conference. “Police officers gave multiple and clear commands for the suspect to drop the weapon.”

He did not comply, O’Hara said. One officer fired two rounds.

“No one was struck by gunfire and no one was injured during this incident,” he added.

The 26-year-old suspect was arrested and booked in the Hennepin County jail for probable cause assault. Officers also logged a black pistol into evidence.

“This incident underscores the dangers our officers face every single day,” O’Hara said. “In a fraction of a second, they were confronted with a life-or-death situation. We are grateful that no one was injured in this incident, and I am very thankful for the professional manner in which our officers handled it.”

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will conduct a use of force review and the officer who discharged his weapon will be placed on standard administrative leave.