5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has learned the man who died in an overnight shooting that also left another man injured in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis was a metro area firefighter.

According to police, officers were called to the 900 block of Cedar Avenue South around 12:40 a.m. Sunday for a report of two people having been shot.

When officers arrived, they found a man in his 40s in a parking lot behind 901 Cedar Avenue South. He was taken to Hennepin Healthcare, where he died.

A second injured man arrived at the hospital in a passenger vehicle. His injuries appear to be non-life-threatening. As of this publishing, that man hasn’t been identified.

Police say they believe shots were fired across 9th Street at a group of people gathered in that parking lot, and shots were exchanged. No word on what led up to the shots being fired, how many people were involved, or who fired the shots.

Early Sunday afternoon, a spokesperson for the city of Eden Prairie issued a statement, and later confirmed, that the man who died was firefighter Joseph C. Johns. City officials say Johns had served as a duty-crew firefighter in Eden Prairie since Sept. 2, 2015, and was also a career firefighter for the city of Eagan since Jan. 13, 2020.

“Our hearts are heavy today and our thoughts are with Joseph’s family as they process this terrible loss,” according to the statement provided by Eden Prairie.

Eagan officials tell 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Johns “tragically passed away while off duty”, and they are grateful to the Burnsville and Inver Grove Heights fire departments for handling calls on behalf of the Eagan Fire Department.

“Joseph was a wonderful individual,” said Eden Prairie Fire Department Chief Scott Gerber. “We would describe him as kind, caring, positive, charismatic, and self and service above self-oriented.”

“There’s no words to describe how painful it is for everybody,” added Hugo Searle, chief of the Eagan Fire Department. “We are a big family and we will dig in and pull together once more.”

As of this time, no one is in custody for the shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to contact CrimeStoppers either by CLICKING HERE or by using 1-800-222-8477.