Crime, Law and Justice

Two dead in shootings a block apart in south Minneapolis

Two men died and a woman was seriously injured in a pair of shootings just minutes and a block apart in Minneapolis late Wednesday.

Police said officers responded to a report of shots fired near 28th and Colfax in south Minneapolis just after 11:30 p.m. They found a man and woman in a vehicle, both suffering from gunshot wounds.

The woman was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center with what authorities said was “at least one potential life-threatening gunshot wound.” The man was pronounced dead at the scene, and KARE 11 reported that police found a gun with him.

Minutes later, police responded to calls about a man down in an apartment building hallway, a block away on Bryant Avenue South. Officers found a man in his 20s wounded by gunfire. He died at the scene. Authorities are investigating whether the two shootings are connected.

“We have two individuals whose lives were lost tonight, and certainly we don’t know what led up to this or all of the motives that are involved — that’s all part of the investigation,” police spokesperson Garrett Parten told KARE 11 at the scene. “But anytime anyone loses their life, it is a tragedy.”

There were no immediate reports of arrests in either shooting. The names of the men who died have not been released.