Loring Park gunman made chilling threat before Minneapolis mass shooting: search warrants
Minneapolis mass shooting: Bodycam footage released
The City of Minneapolis has released the bodycam footage of the mass shooting that took place at Loring Towers.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Hours before Carlton Johnson carried out a deadly mass shooting at a Loring Park high-rise, he told a security guard he should probably wear his bulletproof vest the following night, new search warrants reveal.
Minneapolis mass shooting
The backstory:
Authorities say Johnson opened fire outside the Shoreline Plaza apartment building on Sept. 2.
Investigators say Johnson shot a woman during a custody exchange, then shot two workers as he moved inside the building. Inside the building, he went to the ninth floor where he shot two residents, killing both of them.
Johnson is confronted by police on the ninth floor and dies in an exchange of gunfire.
Minneapolis mass shooting: Suspect faced eviction for gun threats
Carlton Johnson II, 35, the suspected shooter in downtown Minneapolis Wednesday that left two dead and wounded two officers, was facing eviction after he was accused of threatening staff with a gun at Shoreline Plaza, formerly known as Loring Towers, earlier this year. FOX 9's Emily Pofahl has the story.
What we know:
New search warrants recently unsealed in the case shed new light on threats Johnson issued just before the shooting. They also detail his movements leading up to the shooting.
One document includes information from an interview with an eviction attorney representing Johnson. Johnson was facing eviction from Shoreline Plaza after an incident where he displayed a firearm during an altercation in June, along with other problems.
The attorney said that the day before the shooting, Sept. 1, a tenant had reported that Johnson had threatened to kill the assistant property manager of the building and also threatened the life of the mother of his child.
The attorney was so concerned about the threats that she moved to speed up the eviction process. The assistant property manager also filed a police report about the matter.
That same evening, Johnson warned a security guard that he should "probably wear" a bulletproof vest the following day because "you never know what could happen."
Johnson's gun purchase
Dig deeper:
The warrant also details where Johnson obtained his search warrant.
The documents detail Johnson attempting to purchase a gun at a Richfield gun shop on June 4. He obtained the gun on June 10 after a "brief waiting period."
After that, the warrants state Johnson began to start threatening people and showing the firearm off to residents in the building, according to statements from security.
The warrants state that similar complaints and reports persisted up until Sept. 2.
Big picture view:
The warrant also includes statements from construction workers who overheard an irate Johnson speaking on the phone, upset about having to find a new place to live.
The warrants also detail a moment after Johnson shot the two workers and appears to stop near the building elevators. Officials say he appears to be using his phone at that moment and the documents say that footage coincides with a missed call Johnson made to the sister of the mother of his child.
The Source: FOX 9 obtained the search warrant detailing information for this story, and previous FOX 9 reporting.