Groups vandalized buildings and looted businesses in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis after authorities said a man wanted for illegal possession of a firearm was fatally shot by law enforcement officers trying to arrest him, including federal marshals.
Miami World – AP
Following the Thursday afternoon incident, a small crowd gathered in the neighborhood where the man was shot, shouting expletives at the police.
Later that night, groups of people vandalized “numerous” buildings and looted some, police spokesman John Elder said in an email to reporters Friday morning. Some of the people set fire to a pile of garbage and smashed several windows. The number of arrests was not reported.
Little is known about Thursday’s shooting. The US Marshals Service said the task force was trying to execute a state warrant for the individual’s arrest for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
A statement from the service said the man, who was in a parked vehicle, did not obey instructions from law enforcement officers and “pulled out a firearm, resulting in members of the force shooting at the subject.” He added that the agents tried to save his life, but that the man died at the site.
It was unclear how many officers fired their guns. A sheriff’s service spokeswoman said the agency headed the task force. Other agencies with officers on the scene at the time of the incident included the Hennepin, Anoka and Ramsey County Sheriff’s Departments, the Minnesota Department of Prisons and the Department of Homeland Security.
The sheriff’s service said a woman in the vehicle was treated for minor injuries caused by broken glass.
