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The suspected gunman in a shooting at a downtown Minneapolis apartment building that left two people dead and three police officers injured was identified as a 35-year-old resident who was facing eviction from the property, reports said.
Sources identified the individual as Carlton Neal Johnson II, according to Fox9 Minneapolis. The station reported that the suspect, who also died during the shooting, had lived at the Shoreline Plaza apartment complex since March 2025.
Court records obtained by Fox9 Minneapolis reportedly said Johnson was facing eviction for previously making threatening statements.
The records alleged Johnson assaulted another resident on the property in March, and in mid-June, he “walked around the premises with a firearm openly displayed” and entered the building’s management office, where he displayed the weapon to multiple personnel there, the station reported.
3 DEAD, INCLUDING SUSPECTED GUNMAN, AND 3 OFFICERS INJURED IN MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING
Police respond to a shooting on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in downtown Minneapolis. (Ellen Schmidt/AP)
Johnson also allegedly made statements to other residents that he had obtained a new firearm and “would kill someone,” Fox9 Minneapolis reported.
However, Johnson reportedly denied the allegations in the eviction proceedings and a court date had been set for September 11.
Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Bill Peterson said investigators were “familiar with who this individual was,” but did not reveal a motive for Wednesday’s shooting, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune.
The newspaper reported that Johnson was linked to 34 criminal cases in the Twin Cities. It described most of the cases as traffic violations, but added that Johnson previously was charged in two assaults and two misdemeanor drug cases.
Johnson also pled guilty in 2012 to violating a contact order in a domestic abuse case, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
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The shooting in downtown Minneapolis left three people dead, including the suspected gunman. (Ellen Schmidt/AP)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Minneapolis Police Department for comment.
Minneapolis Police Department Sgt. Garrett Parten said at a news conference on Wednesday that it’s unclear how the suspected gunman died.
“Initial information indicated that one person had been shot, and additional 911 callers reported hearing further gunfire. Officers began arriving at approximately 4:39 p.m. and entered the high-rise apartment building,” Parten said. “Inside, officers encountered victims and heard additional gunfire. Officers followed the sound of gunfire to the upper floor of the building and on that floor, officers encountered a haze that significantly limited their visibility. Three officers were injured, two of those by gunfire.”
The suspected gunman in the shooting in downtown Minneapolis, Minn., reportedly was facing eviction from the apartment building. (Ellen Schmidt/AP)
Officers were shot in the shin and abdomen, sources told Fox News.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
