A Minneapolis Park Police Officer was investigating a suspicious vehicle illegally parked in, and blocking access to, the Lake Harriet boat launch late Tuesday night when a 24-year-old male suspect shot at the officer. The suspect is in custody after shots were exchanged.
Neither the officer nor the suspect was injured.
"It's an absolute miracle nobody was killed in this incident," said Park Police Chief Jason Ohotto. "Like I said, I watched the body cam footage, there was an exchange of gunfire at a relatively short distance, and I'm extremely thankful that our officer is okay."
WCCO's Susie Jones has reported there are divers in Lake Harriet Wednesday afternoon, presumably looking for a weapon.
As the officer investigated the vehicle, he was confronted by the suspect, who claimed to own the vehicle. The suspect was immediately uncooperative and became combative with the officer according to preliminary information.
The suspect fired shots in the direction of the officer. The officer returned fire. Neither the officer nor the suspect was hit. The squad car was damaged by gunfire.
The suspect fled on foot. The officer called for assistance and both Park Police and Minneapolis Police Department officers responded. The 24-year-old male suspect was located and arrested a short distance away in the vicinity of Lake Harriet.
