Minneapolis Police: Man dies following exchange of gunfire with police

Minneapolis police are investigating after a man died Tuesday evening following an exchange of gunfire with officers - a witness told investigators that the victim took his own life, according to a press release from the Minneapolis Police Department. 

The incident began around 5:30 when someone in a home on the 3400 block of 5th Street NE called 911 and then hung up.

When responding officers arrived they looked through a window and saw people inside who directed them to the rear of the home. There, officers found the back door unlocked and entered the home, announcing their presence, when they heard cries of distress, according to the release. 

Police say a man confronted one of the officers, pointing a gun at him. The man and police exchanged gunfire, and the officers retreated outside the house. 

Then, police say that one of the individuals inside the home told officers that the man with the gun had shot himself. Officers first secured the scene, getting a woman and two children — a boy and a girl — out of the home, before then returning back inside to find a man in his 50s dead from an apparent gunshot wound. 

Police recovered a gun from the home. 

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is now investigating. The Hennepin Country Medical Examiner will release the name of the man who died along with the cause of death. 

Police are asking for the public’s patience as they work to establish the facts.  

"It is understood that people will want answers quickly to many questions. The MPD shares this desire while seeking answers that are provided after thorough and full investigations. We are asking for patience to allow for that full investigation to take place," the release says. 

MinneapolisCrime and Public Safety