Three people were killed and two were injured in a “senseless” mass shooting in Minneapolis on Tuesday night, according to authorities.
The deceased identified as two men and one woman, while another man and woman injuries, the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) confirmed to Newsweek.
Sergeant Garrett Parten said the incident occurred shortly before midnight on the 1500 block of East 25th Street.
At a press conference, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stated that preliminary findings indicate that the shooting was “targeted and potentially gang-related.”
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Although the perpetrators have not yet been verified, all of the victims seem to be adults. According to authorities, one male victim was discovered on the sidewalk, while other victims were inside cars.
One of the victims was discharged with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, O’Hara stated, while the other injured person was rushed to the hospital in a “grave condition.”
He stated that police heard many gunshots being fired in the vicinity when they arrived at the crime scene. “Officers responded and, while no victims were found, evidence of gunfire was found there,” the officer said.
“Today our city is grieving. After a relative period of peace, the likes of which had not been seen in at least five years, that peace has been shattered. And there are families that are suffering tonight, that are grieving and this is an absolutely senseless tragedy,” the MPD Chief Brian O’Hara said.
He informed that families were “weeping” on the scene, adding that “it is always difficult any time there is one victim, let alone to have multiple victims.”
The incident occurs amid rising shooting incidents in the US. There have been over 4,500 shooting deaths and about 8,000 gun-related injuries in the nation so far this year, as per Gun Violence Archive.
The Minneapolis Police Department has launched a probe into the incident.
