A gunman evicted from his home Wednesday killed two people and injured five others, including two cops, before dying by suicide in a Minneapolis high-rise apartment building, according to police and reports.
The carnage was carried out on an upper floor of the building on East Grant Street, where the sound of gunshots echoed through the hallways when cops arrived shortly before 4:40 p.m., Minneapolis Sgt. Garrett Parten said at a press conference.
The suspect was identified as 35-year-old Carlton Neal Johnson II, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported, citing people with knowledge of the investigation.
Sources told KTSP that the shooter began opening fire in an elevator.
Multiple people were killed and several others injured, including two cops, in a shooting in downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday, according to a report and officials. KARE 11
Cops arrived at the scene less than two minutes after being dispatched, interim Minneapolis police chief Bill Peterson said at a late-night press conference.
Upon arrival at the apartment complex, responding officers encountered victims and gunfire in addition to a “haze that significantly limited their visibility,” Peterson said.
On the upper floor of the building, cops exchanged gunfire with the shooter, the chief added.
Two people were killed and five others, including two cops, suffered gunshot wounds.
One cop was struck in the leg, while the other sustained two bullets to the abdomen, Mayor Jacob Frey said at the late-night press conference.
A third cop also suffered injuries unrelated to gunfire and all three are expected to make a full recovery, Peterson said.
Peterson believes that “at least some” of the victims lived at the apartment complex — which has been identified as Shoreline Plaza.
“The death toll would have been far higher” if not for the “heroic work” of the police, Frey said.
“I can’t emphasize enough how dangerous the situation was and how heroic our officers were in their response,” the mayor added.
One of the fatal victims died at the scene while the other was pronounced dead at the hospital.
One person is in custody following the shooting. KARE 11
Johnson was also found dead. Sources told KTSP the gunman died by suicide.
“I’m truly sickened by this level of violence,” Peterson said of the “cowardly acts of a violent shooter.”
“That feeling is tempered only by the courageous actions of the Minneapolis police officers who responded without hesitation, confronted an extraordinarily dangerous situation, and worked to end the violence and restore safety,” Peterson said.
The top cop said he is “saddened that once again, there’s a senseless crime of gun violence that took the lives of more than one innocent victim and injured numerous others.”
Peterson said the gunman was known to police but did not provide additional information.
Johnson allegedly told a neighbor just days before the deadly rampage that he was going to shoot his ex-girlfriend and the two building property managers, Shoreline Plaza resident Chris Miller told the Star Tribune.
“He said, ‘I’m going to shoot people,’” Miller alleged Johnson said either on Sunday or Monday.
Minneapolis Police Department officers respond to the area of 15 East Grat Street in downtown Minneapolis on September 2, 2026, after multiple people, including two police officers, were shot near the Minneapolis Convention Center. KARE 11
Miller said the gunman had been living alone and had at least a couple of kids who did not live with him.
Johnson showed Miller his handgun and his concealed gun carry permit on a couple of occasions and was “very, very, very angry, drunk and mad,” the neighbor claimed.
Former Shoreline Plaza resident, Derrick Thompson, was back at the building collecting his mail Wednesday when he “heard a girl up there screaming and whatever.”
“It wasn’t long before all hell broke loose,” Thompson told the Star Tribune.
The shooter had just been evicted earlier Wednesday and police were called to his apartment hours before the shooting erupted, sources told KTSP.
Johnson was fighting an eviction proceeding based on a slew of threatening incidents at the apartment complex, the Star Tribune reported, citing court records.
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The gunman was handed an eviction notice on June 16 by attorneys for Shoreline Plaza, formerly known as the Loring Towers, which claimed he breached his lease on six occasions between January and June.
The eviction notice alleged Johnson had assaulted a building resident in March and walked around the complex with a firearm in June while making statements to several residents that he “would kill someone.”
Prior to the deadly shooting spree Wednesday, Johnson had racked up 34 separate criminal cases in the Twin Cities, according to the Star Tribune.
Most of the cases involved traffic violations, but Johnson was previously charged in two assaults involving domestic incidents and two misdemeanor drug matters.
Police respond to a shooting on Sept. 2, 2026, in downtown Minneapolis. AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt
Governor Tim Walz said the Minnesota “public safety team” are investigating the shooting and “State officials are on the ground to support local law enforcement,” in a statement on X.
“We will share more information as it becomes available,” Walz added, later writing “Pray for Minnesota.”
“Grateful to law enforcement actively working to ensure the safety of our neighbors in Downtown Minneapolis this afternoon,” Walz added. “Minnesota is praying for our first responders.”
Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar said she had spoken with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey “about the horrific shootings with multiple victims,” in a statement on X.
“Please avoid the area as law enforcement works to secure the scene,” Klobuchar wrote. “My prayers are with the victims and their loved ones. Thank you to our courageous law enforcement.”
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office officials, Minneapolis police officers, and officials from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were at the scene as of 5:30 p.m., KSTP reported.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media that federal agents are responding to the shooting.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude and my pride in the officers who responded without hesitation and heroically placed themselves between a violent shooter and those he intended to harm,” Peterson said Wednesday night.