UPDATE 07/07/25:

The victim was identified on Monday as 26-year-old Mario Martinez Ramirez-Hernandez.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner said he had been shot in the head and neck. His death was ruled a homicide.

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What if you heard a barrage of July Fourth fireworks, only to find out some of those sounds might have been gunshots?

That’s a concern of residents in a south Minneapolis neighborhood, the scene of the city’s latest homicide.

“In the middle of a bunch of fireworks, I heard something automatic go off,” says Alex, who declined to give his last name. “I see a bunch of cops showing up, an ambulance come through, right where I heard a bunch of shots going off.”

That gunfire, at around 11:20 p.m. Friday, was along the 2700 block of Bloomington Avenue.

Police say a man in his 20s was shot just yards from Fire Station #5.

“If I was to stand right there, something could have happened,” Alex says. “It makes me feel a little unsafe in the moment.”

Authorities say someone at the scene flagged down firefighters to check on a man who was unconscious on the ground, who turned out to have at least one apparent gunshot wound.

The man was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

“I don’t know if these people knew each other or it could have been a random targeted,” Alex says. “Right by the bus stop, too. A lot of people just go there for their regular transportation. Could have been anyone.”

Investigators say they found evidence of multiple gunshots at the scene.

On Saturday afternoon, remnants of fireworks littered the sidewalk there.  

Sacky Thunder, who lives nearby, is worried.

“That’s too bad. Too much of that going on as it is,” he says. “Nobody is safe around here. We’ve got to do something to stop the epidemic; it’s out of hand.”

This was the second homicide on the Fourth of July.

Police say around 2:30 a.m., a man in his 20s riding a scooter on Dupont Avenue North was hit by gunfire and died at the hospital from his wounds.

The pair of deadly shootings follows an announcement by MPD that they would have additional patrols on the street and roadblocks set up to keep the city safe during the holiday weekend.

Authorities have not yet identified the man who was killed.

So far, police haven’t released information about a motive or suspects.

“Someone knows what happened to this man,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, in a statement. “We need anyone with information, no matter how minor it might seem, to share that information with us.”

Back on Bloomington Avenue, a woman who doesn’t want her name used says her two sons stay off the streets at night.

A parent, decrying the gun violence and pleading for it to stop.  

“Maybe they’ll stop shooting each other, sooner or later,” she said quietly. “People got to learn, you are taking a life. Stop doing it, you know. If you can’t fight it out, leave it alone. Because with a gun, you’re permanently away, you’re gone, you’re not coming back.”

Anyone with information about the shooting should email policetips@minneapolismn.gov or call 612-673-5845. You can also submit anonymous tips to CrimeStoppers at www.CrimeStoppersMN.org or call 1-800-222-8477.