Two residents killed in a mass shooting at a downtown Minneapolis apartment complex have been identified, along with two police officers wounded by gunfire while responding to the attack.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension named the victims as Dale Henry Spry, 63, and Muse A. Afrah, 61. Both are believed to have lived at the building where the shooting took place on Wednesday, 2 September.
The two injured Minneapolis police officers were identified as Joseph Michnowski, who joined the department in 2021, and Yahye Ahmed, who has served since November 2024.
Minneapolis mass shooting victims identified
Police were called to the apartment complex at 15 East Grant Street at about 4.30pm after reports of gunfire. Officers found victims in the lobby before hearing more shots from an upper floor.
Investigators said officers followed the sound of the gunfire to the ninth floor, where they encountered the suspected gunman and exchanged fire with him. The suspect, identified by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office as 35-year-old Carlton Neal Johnson II, died at the scene.
A preliminary autopsy found that Johnson died from multiple gunshot wounds. His death has been classified as a homicide.
The BCA also identified Liban Mohamed Ibrahim as an officer who fired his weapon during the confrontation. Investigators are still working to establish whether any other officers discharged their firearms.
Three Minneapolis officers were injured during the response. Two were wounded by gunfire, while a third was treated for cuts sustained after breaking through a squad car window.
Mr Ahmed was released from hospital on Thursday, according to Mayor Jacob Frey, while Mr Michnowski remained in hospital receiving treatment. Three civilians who were shot were also being treated at Hennepin Healthcare.
The shooting began during a custody exchange involving a child believed to be Johnson’s, according to an account of the investigation presented by BCA superintendent Drew Evans. Authorities said the gunman then entered the building and shot two people working there before going upstairs.
Mr Evans said investigators had no indication that the two workers or the residents killed on the ninth floor had been specifically targeted. The investigation remains ongoing.
