Woman grazed by bullet near Phelps Park in south Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Shawn Ross couldn't believe it. He and his two young daughters were in Phelps Park, in their south Minneapolis neighborhood, when he looked up and saw two vehicles speeding along Columbus Avenue, spraying bullets at one another.

"We heard the gunshots. And you could even hear the casings hit the ground. The ting, ting, ting,” he said. “It was pretty intense. It was pretty intense."

The gunfire sent an estimated 20 to 30 people, who were at the park on an evening devoted to national night out gatherings, scrambling for cover. Ross remembers some kids diving under the community center picnic tables to get out of the line of fire.

"It's ridiculous that had to happen near a park where kids play,” Ross said.

There was one that tore through an innocent drivers windshield and just missed striking her in the head. Her family tells Fox 9 she is too shaken to talk about the near-miss.

"She had sprayed glass all over her face. She was bleeding. Luckily she didn't get hit by the bullet. Missed her head by inches. She was really lucky,” Ross said of the woman who was nearly hit by the bullet.

Minneapolis Police spokesman John Elder confirmed the department is investigating the park-side shootout. So far, there have been no arrests though MPD is promising increased attention in the neighborhood.

“It's going to mean an additional patrol response. But also additional unmarkeds and our Community Response Team will go out in plain clothes,” Elder said.

Witnesses got a pretty good description on the two cars involved. One is an older green Ford Taurus and the other a large, white sedan, possibly a Lincoln or Cadillac. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Minneapolis police