Mental health suspected to be a factor in Monday disturbance that caused apartment evacuation

By KSTP

A 34-year-old man is in custody after Minneapolis police were called to 10 East Grant Street on Monday afternoon after several 911 callers and officers reported hearing shots fired inside a building.

According to the Minneapolis Police Department, officers responded to the 10th floor of an apartment building around 3:15 p.m. and heard “suspected gunfire” in the hallway. After learning which unit the suspect was in, law enforcement evacuated the building and began negotiations.

During negotiations, the man broke a hole through the wall into the hallway and threw items from the window and through the hole in the wall, according to a release from MPD.

The man was eventually tased and taken into custody.

Police say he is minorly injured and that there are no other injuries reported at this time. Law enforcement says they believe the man was injured prior to being taken into custody.

The MPD SWAT Unit and the MPD Crisis Negotiations Team responded to the incident.

Law enforcement says no evidence of gunfire has been found at this time.

The suspect was booked into Hennepin County Jail for property damage, according to MPD officials. Officers say they believe mental health challenges were a contributing factor in Monday’s incident.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara held a press conference at 5:15 p.m. to discuss the incident. View the full video below.

“I’m incredibly thankful to the police officers, SWAT Team members, and crisis negators who responded today,” said Chief O’Hara. “They performed heroically and with great restraint trying to rescue individuals who they thought were in danger of gunfire. They came up with a significant plan to safely take this person into custody quickly. I’m just incredibly grateful to them, and I’m thankful that we’re able to end this relatively quickly, in about an hour and a half, with no other persons being injured.”

Chopper 5 captured several images of the police and SWAT response during the disturbance.