2 dead after 10 shot in downtown Minneapolis, police say
A shooting in downtown Minneapolis left two men dead and eight other people injured early Saturday, police say.
The three men and five women injured were transported to local hospitals, where one is in critical condition, according to a series of tweets from the Minneapolis Police Department. The other wounded people had non-life-threatening injuries.
No arrests were immediately announced, but police say there is no active threat, according to a tweet.
Police spokesperson John Elder told the Star Tribune that the shooting resulted from an argument between two men in a crowd of dozens of clubgoers.
"It's the same thing we've said over and over again, bottom line is people need to put their guns down," Elder said. "It's as simple as that; there needs to be other ways to solve differences."
The shooting was not the only one in the city overnight. The Star Tribune reported five people were shot and one died in separate incidents that night, bringing the city's homicide total to 31 so far in 2021.
During the pandemic, gun-related homicides in U.S. cities have surged. A study by the Council on Criminal Justice found a 30% increase in homicides and an 8% increase in gun assaults in a sample of 34 U.S. cities in 2020.
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo urged residents and community leaders to denounce the violence on Friday night in a statement, according to the Star Tribune.
Watch: Biden calls gun violence in the US an epidemic, but what has he done to pass new laws?
"These brazen senseless acts of gun violence must stop," Arradondo said. "The perpetrators of these crimes should never find refuge or anonymity in our communities."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the shooting was a tragedy in a Saturday statement.
“These outcomes are not fated,” he said in the statement. “We can stem crime in our city, but it will take all of us coming together with a renewed commitment to preventative work and a shared resolve to stop the gun violence and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Facing increasing public pressure to reform the city's police department following the murder of George Floyd, Frey has proposed increasing numbers of cameras in high-crime areas and ending stops for low-level offenses in order to address disparities in traffic stops.
"Gun violence is traumatizing our neighborhoods," Frey said in a May 18 tweet. "Minneapolis residents are demanding action, and we need to build on our work to answer the call. If there ever was a time for us to rally around a shared model for safety and accountability, it’s now."
Contact News Now Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern. Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Minneapolis shooting: 2 dead, 8 others injured, police say
