Woman says she fired warning shots before killing man who broke into her garage

A Minneapolis woman who shot and killed a man in her backyard last month told police she had tried to scare him off with warning shots before shooting at him, a search warrant states.

The warrant requests a search of the woman’s home for firearms, ammunition, cell phones, surveillance video and to process the home for evidence.

Police investigators say dispatchers received two 911 calls after several shots were fired the night of Feb. 22. The first caller said they had heard four shots and someone yelling. The second call came from the shooter, who said a male had broken into the detached garage behind her home on the 3300 block of 25th Avenue South and that she had shot him when he reached into his pants.

Medics were unable to revive the man, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital less than an hour later. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him as 30-year-old Martin Johnson of Minneapolis.

The 53-year-old homeowner told police that Johnson had broken into their garage and she had fired four warning shots with a handgun to get him to leave. The man then reached into his waistband while walking toward the homeowner and her 26-year-old son; the woman told police that’s when she shot him with a rifle.

Police found a handgun and a rifle in the home and found three cartridge casings on the back porch and a rifle casing inside the home.

The woman told officers she had a Ring camera that surveys the backyard and garage.

Police have not made any arrests in this case.