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Two women died and a child was injured Thursday when their vehicle was hit by another car fleeing Minneapolis police. It happened just after 8:30 a.m. along Highway 55 at Penn Avenue, west of downtown.

The child was transported to a hospital and is expected to survive, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.

The suspect, who was taken into custody at the scene of the crash and is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, was allegedly involved in a carjacking that occurred earlier in south Minneapolis.

“This is an outcome that we never want, as two innocent lives have been taken from us because of one person's violent and reckless behaviors,” O’Hara said at a press conference at the crash scene. “This is exactly why we take carjackings and gun crimes so seriously, because they put every member of our community at risk.”

Just after 8 a.m. Thursday, Minneapolis police officers said they responded to reports of a person with a gun, which escalated to reports of a carjacking near East Lake Street and Fourth Avenue South in south Minneapolis. Callers said a man had been driving recklessly, swerving into oncoming traffic and driving on sidewalks along Lake Street, and later crashed. 

Police said the suspect exited the crashed vehicle and pulled out a handgun and attempted to carjack someone stopped at a red light. That person drove off. The suspect then allegedly carjacked a woman and fled in her vehicle, but circled back to the first crashed vehicle to retrieve three dogs that were inside. 

Around 8:20 a.m. police received reports that the suspect was recklessly driving through downtown Minneapolis. Police tracked the vehicle to the north side, where officers initiated a pursuit at around 8:36 a.m.

The pursuit ended three minutes later when the suspect crashed into another vehicle that was not involved in the earlier incidents. Two adults in that vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene and a child suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect was taken into custody at the scene and is being treated at North Memorial for non-life-threatening injuries. The three dogs that were in the suspect’s vehicle were taken by Animal Control. Two were injured and one had to be euthanized. Police said a handgun was also recovered from the vehicle.

The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating the crash and Minneapolis police are investigating the carjacking incident from earlier in the morning on Lake Street.

O’Hara said the department has strict policies on when officers can initiate a vehicle pursuit.

“We limit our pursuits only to those cases where we believe an immediate apprehension is necessary to protect the community from a violent criminal, and we don’t necessarily know who that person is, and (are) not necessarily able to wait to make an apprehension at a later time,” he said Thursday.

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The crash happened just after 8:30 a.m. along Highway 55 at Penn Avenue, west of downtown. The child was transported to a hospital and is expected to survive.

Two dead, child injured in crash involving car fleeing Minneapolis police

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