Minneapolis police investigating afternoon shooting on Lake Street that left three people wounded

Three people are now in the hospital with potentially life-threatening wounds after a shooting on Lake Street near Hiawatha Avenue Friday afternoon.

“Another sad day in Minneapolis that has to do with gun violence,” declared Saaundre Burns, with Touch Outreach, a violence interrupter group.

Evidence markers were scattered across the street where police say gunshots were fired from a moving vehicle just after 3 p.m.

Some of them hit a bus shelter.

The victims are described by police as a 65-year-old woman, a 19-year-old man, and a 15-year-old boy.

Minneapolis Public Schools says one of the victims is a student from South High School, just a few blocks away.

“I think it’s horrible, it’s a lot,” says Deja McAllister, who says she often comes to Lake Street to shop with her mother.

Now, she worries about her family’s safety.  

“It’s extremely traumatic for anybody,” said McAllister, who is 22-years-old and a mother herself. “Nobody should have to go through that. But people don’t have any sense nowadays.”

Burns says at least one round hit Touch Outreach’s office window, but nobody was there.

The group planned to patrol the neighborhood Friday night.

“Now we got to do our due diligence and figure out how this all transpired and how we can de-escalate before it transfers to something else,” Burns says.

It’s been an especially violent year in Minneapolis.

Data from the Minneapolis crime dashboard shows 491 people hit by gunfire so far this year.

While that’s down from this time last year, it’s higher than 2020, and more than double that of 2019.

McAllister says she’s going to be more watchful when shopping in the neighborhood from now on.

“We have two babies in the car right now with us, so we try to keep them out of harm’s way as much as possible,” she says. “We have to protect our children.”

Police have not released any information about a motive or suspects.

The victims are now being treated at HCMC.

Minneapolis Public Schools says Interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox visited the hospital to offer support to the victims and their families.

Burns says the community is looking for answers.

“This is our main fight out there,” he says. “We’re trying to figure out how to stop all this gun violence.”