Gunfire erupted on a quiet Wednesday afternoon inside a high-rise downtown apartment building, leaving two people dead and six others hurting. The panic started just after 4:30 p.m. at Loring Towers, a large complex at 15 East Grant Street. First calls to 911 came in at 4:36 p.m. reporting a single gunshot. Within moments, phones kept ringing with news that more shots were going off across the upper floors.
Squad cars flooded the block, and the first wave of Minneapolis police officers went through the front doors at 4:39 p.m. They did not wait around in the lobby. Hearing active shooting upstairs, officers ran straight toward the noise, finding wounded people scattered along their path.
As officers pushed higher into the building, a thick haze made it hard to see anything down the corridors. The smoke blinded responders while bullets were still flying. They had to navigate dark hallways, relying mostly on sound to pinpoint where the shooting was coming from.
Three officers took injuries during the push. Gunfire hit two of them directly. One officer got shot in the leg, while a second officer sustained serious wounds that required immediate surgery at the hospital. A third officer suffered non-gunfire injuries while working the chaotic scene.
The violence took a heavy toll on the people living inside the building. One resident died on the floor before medics could reach them. Emergency crews rushed another badly wounded victim to the hospital, but doctors could not save them either.
At least six other individuals ended up in the hospital with various injuries. Outside, dozens of neighbors stood on the pavement watching ambulances pull away. Paramedics and police units from all around the city packed the surrounding streets while tactical teams slowly secured every floor.
Minneapolis Police Sgt. Garrett Parten called the whole afternoon a tremendously tragic event. Hours after the gunfire stopped, officers were still escorting frightened residents back into their apartments. Authorities confirmed the shooter, identified as 35-year-old Carlton Johnson II, died at the scene, though investigators have not said how he died.
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