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4th victim dies from Minneapolis mass shooting
Police say four of the five victims in the Minneapolis mass shooting have died from their injuries. FOX 9’s Bill Keller has more on the story.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - An alleged gunman in a mass shooting in Minneapolis that killed four people and wounded one other faces new charges after allegedly trying to escape from a Hennepin County jail – spraying officers with a fire extinguisher in the process.
Minneapolis shooting suspect escape attempt
What we know:
James Duane Ortley, 34, is charged with one count of attempting to flee from custody, five counts of assault on a correctional facility employee and one count of damage to property for an incident that occurred on Oct. 22.
According to the charges, around 4:17 p.m., Ortley had a professional visitor that he met in a meeting room. As the visitor was leaving, he allegedly pushed his way past them, making his way out of the visiting area and to a public elevator.
At that point, charges state he took a fire extinguisher off the wall and began breaking the glass on the exit door that leads to the elevators with the base of the extinguisher.
As authorities approached him, he then allegedly discharged it at them – preventing their ability to apprehend him.
However, when the fire extinguisher was nearly empty, he then laid on the ground and yelled, "I'm done! I'm done! Lock me up!"
A total of five deputies experienced chemical exposure from the fire extinguisher deployed on them and were evaluated by Hennepin County Medical Center medical staff for conditions that included swollen and burning eyes.
During a jail call made to someone outside the facility, charges state that Ortley can be heard admitting to the escape attempt, telling them he tried to "get outta here" while deploying the fire extinguisher.
Ortley already faces three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder, and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm in connection to a mass shooting earlier this spring.
Mass shooting in Minneapolis
The backstory:
Just before midnight on April 29, 2025, police responded to a shooting along 25th Street near Bloomington Avenue.
At the scene, officers found five victims – two men, two women, and a teen boy – who had all been shot.
Three people were pronounced dead at the scene, including a 27-year-old man, a 20-year-old woman, and a 17-year-old boy.
A woman who sustained potentially life-threatening injuries in the shooting was also transported to the hospital, while a 28-year-old man who was considered in "grave" condition ultimately died from his injuries.
Ortley arrest
Dig deeper:
Police say Ortley was arrested in connection with the shooting after the U.S. Marshals North Star Fugitive Task Force and the FBI SWAT Team executed a search warrant on the1600 block of South 4th Street.
The arrest warrant alleges Ortley and some of his family members are associated with the Native Mob – a criminal street gang which operates in south Minneapolis and other areas of the state.
Court documents also indicate Ortley allegedly admitted that his street name was "Baby James" during an October 2023 interview with authorities for a separate homicide investigation.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara previously reiterated that Ortley was known to at least some of the people involved, and the shooting was not random.
The Source: Information provided by charges filed in Hennepin County and previous FOX 9 reporting.