A Minneapolis police officer was shot Saturday morning, and Police Chief Janee Harteau said “there is little doubt that an officer was the intended target.”
The wounded officer was one of two who had just finished responding to a reported burglary when he was shot just before 5 a.m. (6 a.m. ET), Minneapolis police said in a statement. His partner promptly drove him to a nearby North Memorial Medical Center, where he was in stable condition later Saturday.
“The chief is now with this officer and his family is with him, as well,” police spokesman Scott Seroka told CNN. “He is doing OK.”
At that point, authorities were searching the area but did not have anyone in custody in connection with the shooting. Seroka declined to offer details on what he called “the suspect.”
Police announced Saturday afternoon that one suspect in the burglary was in custody.
Police believe the wounded officer wasn’t targeted personally, but was shot simply because he is a police officer, Seroka added.
According to Harteau, he “just happened to be the one who was there.”
“This is a reminder to all that every one of our officers face such danger simply because they choose to wear a uniform,” Harteau said. “They deserve our support and gratitude.”
Police have been shot in patrol cars before
Authorities combed the crime scene Saturday, searching for evidence in an area covered with snow and surrounded by fences, trees and houses.
They did not immediately release details about exactly what happened, including how many shots were fired and from how far away.
Even then, the idea of a police officer being shot while sitting in his police car harkens back to what happened this past December in New York City.
That’s where officers Rafael Ramos, in his patrol car’s driver’s seat, and Wenjian Liu, to his side, were one Saturday afternoon when a gunman approached their car and opened fire. Both officers died after being shot in the head “with no warning, no provocation,” New York Police Commissioner William Bratton said at the time.
That shooting came on the heels of a grand jury’s decision not to indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner, one of several cases nationwide that stirred tensions between law enforcement and some citizens.
Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, ended his own life shortly after killing Ramos and Liu. Brinsley, who had a lengthy criminal record, had made references online to Garner and Michael Brown, an African-American man killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, and also posted messages of self-loathing and despair.
What might have spurred the shooter Saturday in Minnesota? What was this person doing in the area with a gun? Did he or she have an issue with police? And if so, could this beef have been with one or both of these specific officers?
Like so much about this case, answers to those questions remain elusive.