A heroic officer was ambushed and killed by a gunman he tried to help. Another victim is dead, and several others are wounded

By CNN

Published May 31, 2024 11:09 AM

CNN

By Emma Tucker, Holly Yan, Dalia Faheid, Jillian Sykes and Sarah Dewberry, CNN

(CNN) — A Minneapolis officer hailed as a hero last year was killed by a gunman who ambushed the officer as he responded to the scene of another shooting, police said.

Officer Jamal Mitchell, 36, was one of two people killed Thursday in a pair of shootings that also left four people wounded, authorities said.

The gunman was also killed.

Police initially responded to a call about two people shot at an apartment building in Minneapolis’ Whittier neighborhood around 5:15 p.m. Thursday. When officers arrived, someone shot at them immediately, and the officers returned fire, Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell said.

Mitchell and the suspect were killed and another officer was injured, Blackwell said. She said authorities later found three other civilians who had been shot, one of whom died at the scene.

Among the four surviving injured, a Minneapolis police officer and a firefighter suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Blackwell said. They have since been treated and released.

The other two suffered life-threatening injuries, including a person who was shot in his vehicle and another who was found in an apartment, Minneapolis police said. They were still in the hospital as of Friday afternoon.

‘A hero, a son, a father, a fiancé’ was killed

Just three days after he was sworn in to the police department in 2023, Mitchell rushed into a burning, smoke-filled house with another officer to rescue an elderly couple. The rookie Minneapolis cop told CNN he didn’t hesitate to go in.

“We’re not trained to run into fires, but we are trained to put others’ lives in front of ours,” Mitchell told CNN last year. “So when we found out possibly that someone was in that house, we didn’t second guess running in.”

In his final moments Thursday, the young officer responded to a shooting and tried to render first aid to those who had been injured, authorities said.

One of the people he was trying to help turned out to be the gunman who would kill him, authorities said.

“Mitchell was attempting to assist the individual that shot him,” Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said.

“It happened very fast … he ambushed him.”

Mitchell “was a hero, a son, a father, a fiancé and an officer who is so deeply committed to protecting and serving,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.

“He would run towards danger when the rest of us would run in the other direction,” the mayor added.

Even though he was a Minneapolis officer for less than two years, Mitchell made a profound impact on the department.

“I’ve never met an officer that received an award on the third day on the job,” Blackwell said.

And the officer “gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect and save the lives of others,” Frey said.

“We will honor his sacrifice. We will remember his name,” the mayor said. “We will never forget what he did for the people of our city.”

Speaking early Friday morning, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said, “There are not words to appropriately describe this tragedy. It’s the worst call a police chief can receive.”

O’Hara says that he had known Mitchell personally. “He died a hero,” the chief said. “He died doing what we asked him to do for the rest of us.”

The motive remains a mystery

It’s still unclear what prompted the gunfire that led to a shootout and two victims killed.

Police said they believe they know who the suspect was, but homicide detectives were trying to determine the motive.

Witness Reuben Molina was watching TV with his girlfriend in a third-floor apartment when he heard a “bang.”

“Then we heard it again and again and again in rapid succession, and then me and her were like, ‘Oh, that’s gunshots,’” Molina told CNN affiliate WCCO. He said he thought the sounds came from the floor below them.

Molina said they left the apartment to see what was happening. He told WCCO he kept hearing gunshots and saw “people shooting,” but couldn’t tell whether those opening fire were officers or civilians.

It’s not clear exactly how many officers exchanged fire with the suspect, as authorities have given differing accounts.

“When officers arrived, they received gunfire immediately and they exchanged gunfire,” Blackwell said.

But Evans said only one officer exchanged gunfire with the suspect.

“A second officer, I should note, arrived shortly after officer Mitchell was injured and shot and exchanged gunfire with the subject at that time,” Evans said Thursday night. “He was injured in that gunfire exchange.”

Forensic scientists are collecting evidence, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is working with Minneapolis police to help determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting deaths. Authorities said Friday they are still working on gathering a timeline for the incident that unfolded.

CNN has reached out to the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for more information.

‘This cannot be the norm’

Across the country, the US has suffered at least 180 mass shootings in just the first five months of this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Like CNN, the archive defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, not including the shooter.

And in the first four months of this year, at least 136 officers have been shot in the line of duty – including 20 who were killed, according to the National Fraternal Order of Police.

“This cannot be the norm,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Thursday night.

“It’s now happened four times in the last couple of months where we’ve had public safety officers responding to the call that people make to 911, rushing into that situation, and in this case being ambushed and a loss of life for Officer Mitchell.”

And even though Minneapolis is “strong” and “resilient,” the mayor said, “We got to do everything possible to make sure that these tragic events, this epidemic of gun violence, this kind of stuff never happens again.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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