The suspect in the Minneapolis mass shooting was facing eviction after a series of alleged assaults, threats and incidents involving a handgun at the apartment complex where two residents were killed.
Carlton Neal Johnson, 35, is believed to have opened fire at Shoreline Plaza, formerly known as Loring Towers, in downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday, September 2. Two people died and six others were injured, including two police officers.
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent Drew Evans said on Thursday that Johnson died during an exchange of gunfire with officers. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy and will make the final determination on his cause of death.
Evans said the shooting began outside the building during a custody exchange involving Johnson’s child and the child’s mother. The woman was shot in the leg, while the child escaped unharmed.
Johnson then entered the building, where investigators believe he shot two employees before going to his ninth-floor flat. Two residents were killed there: 61-year-old Muse Abdi Afrah and 63-year-old Dale Henry Spry.
One of the employees was seriously injured and the other is expected to recover, officials said. The wider investigation, including the precise circumstances of the shootings, remains under way.
Eviction followed repeated gun incidents
Johnson signed a lease at the 15 East Grant Street complex in March 2025. In a letter dated June 16, lawyers acting for the building’s management told him that his tenancy would end on June 29.
Court documents listed six incidents dating back to January. They included an allegation that Johnson had assaulted another resident in March.
The eviction papers said Johnson entered the management office on June 11 and openly showed a firearm to staff. Around the same time, he reportedly told residents he had obtained a new gun and later displayed it to people on a nearby pavement.
After contacting management to ask for another chance, Johnson was warned not to display a gun on the property and to comply with Minnesota’s rules on carrying concealed weapons.
However, the complaint alleged that he continued to breach the lease and the conditions of that final warning. On June 19, he was accused of lifting his shirt to show a firearm while making “concerning verbal statements” to a security officer.
Six days later, the documents said, Johnson walked around the block with the weapon visible and brandished it at another resident in a communal area. Police were called, and Johnson allegedly tried to bribe staff into telling him who had contacted officers.
Hennepin County attorney Mary Moriarty said Johnson had a valid permit to carry a gun. Police determined that he had displayed the weapon but it had not left his waistband, and prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.
Johnson had been due to appear in court on September 11 in connection with the eviction proceedings. He was also the subject of a restraining order after the mother of his child alleged that he had sent more than 120 abusive and threatening text messages from 10 different phone numbers in March 2023.
Interim Minneapolis police chief Bill Peterson said officers had prior dealings with Johnson but did not provide further details. Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage which officials said captured the incident.
Officers injured while responding
Police were dispatched shortly after the first emergency call and entered the building less than two minutes later, according to city officials. Officers found victims inside and exchanged gunfire with Johnson on the ninth floor.
Officer Joseph Michnowski was shot in the stomach and underwent surgery. He remained in hospital on Thursday. Officer Yahye Ahmed, who was shot in the leg, was released later that day.
A third officer suffered cuts from glass while breaking a squad-car window to disable its siren. The BCA said Officer Liban Mohamed Ibrahim discharged his weapon during the response, while investigators were still determining whether any other officers had fired.
The state bureau is specifically examining the officers’ use of force. Mayor Jacob Frey and Chief Peterson said the injured officers were expected to make full recoveries.
Residents described being trapped inside the high-rise for hours as police secured the building. Brian Swedberg, a former Marine, said he found two wounded people on the first floor after hearing gunfire and heard another person calling emergency services from behind a door.
A diner across the road was also placed under lockdown for about two hours while customers and staff remained inside.
