Spike in violence marks 40th Minneapolis murder of 2015

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Minneapolis police confirmed an adult male is dead after a shooting near Lake Street and Pleasant Avenue on Monday evening. The incident marks the 40th homicide in Minneapolis this year, and the 5th this past week.

“This community needs peace. We need people to put the guns down. These (recent) cases aren’t necessarily related but the common denominator is gun violence,” Chief Janeé Harteau said, as she was surrounded by community leaders and community members at the scene.

Officers responded to a report of shots fired in the area around  5 p.m. When they arrived, officials found an adult male victim, he was pronounced dead at the scene. There is not a suspect in custody at this time -- but police believe the victim and suspect knew each other.

Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteu confirmed the number of people killed are up from last year. She said investigators are working to combat with increased patrols and various strategies.

"We are looking at different ways we can take people out of different duties and jobs that maybe could wait frankly, and focus on the street. But we do that, we put all our resources where they need to be," Harteau said.

The Minneapolis Police Department said a team of officers will be out in the area surrounding Lake and Pleasant to "continue their community engagement work with home and business owners regarding this latest tragedy." Existing patrol resources will also be saturating both the areas in the coming days.

“Addressing gun violence is a priority for Mayor Hodges and me," Harteau said. "We are looking at all of our resources right now. Many of our suspects in the shootings this year have lengthy criminal histories. They’re not first time offenders in the criminal justice system and we need to find ways to connect those dots, and try to predict and prevent shootings before the next one occurs."