MINNEAPOLIS– A Minneapolis police officer who was murdered by a man he tried to help at the scene of a shooting will be remembered in a public ceremony on Tuesday.
Investigators are calling the May 30 shooting of Officer Jamal Mitchell a ambush. They said he was responding to a call about a double shooting when he tried to help a man he thought was injured. That man then shot Mitchell several times. Three other people, including the gunman, were killed.
Mitchell had been with the Minneapolis Police Department for about 18 months. Tori Myslajek, Mitchell’s long-term partner, said Mitchell’s greatest joy was his four children.
“Our family is completely devastated by our recent loss. Jamal was our whole world,” Myslajek said in a statement. “Jamal and I created a beautiful life in Minnesota, and he was deeply passionate about helping and serving the Minneapolis community. On behalf of our family and from the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank our friends, neighbors, loved ones and the entire community for their continued support.”
The memorial service was scheduled for Tuesday morning at a high school in Maple Grove, Minnesota. Thousands of police officers from across the state, region and nation are expected to attend the service, a police spokesman said.
Mitchell’s murder has stunned a department that has done just that struggled to fill its ranks since the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent unrest. It also added to the state’s trauma of watching public safety officers die as they rushed to help people in need, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said. Mitchell was murdered three months later two officers and a firefighter-paramedic were fatally shot in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville respond to a domestic violence call.
In the May attack, officers responded to a call of a double shooting at an apartment complex in the Whittier neighborhood of south Minneapolis. Mitchell responded first and approached 35-year-old Mustafa Mohamed outside. When the officer asked if Mohamed was injured, Mohamed pulled out a gun and shot Mitchell several times.
Another officer arrived and exchanged gunfire with Mohamed, who died from his injuries, Minneapolis Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell said. The second officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Another person, believed to be a bystander, was shot and taken to a hospital in critical condition. A responding firefighter was also slightly injured.
Authorities said two people were shot in the apartment: Osman Said Jimale, 32, and Mohamed Aden, 36. Jimale died in the apartment. Aden died Friday of complications related to multiple gunshot wounds, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said Sunday.
Few details have been released about the first shooting and investigators have not speculated about Mohamed’s motives. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribunehe was convicted of federal weapons charges and was released from prison in 2020. About two years later he was arrested again at gunpoint. Arrest warrants were issued after he failed to appear at a hearing.
Mitchell was previously praised by Minneapolis police for saving an elderly couple from a house fire on his third day on the job. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called Mitchell a hero in a statement after the shooting.
“This officer made the ultimate sacrifice to protect and save the lives of others,” Frey said. “His life, his service and his name will forever be remembered in the city of Minneapolis.”