MINNEAPOLIS– Minneapolis’ police chief told grieving officers early Friday that he was angry and hurt by the death of one of their own in an ambush, as the city and state mourned the loss.
Chief Brian O’Hara joined other officers outside the station where Officer Jamal Mitchell worked before he was fatally shot Thursday while responding to a double shooting at an apartment building. Mitchell, 36, stopped to help a man who appeared to be an injured victim. That man shot the officer instead, authorities said.
“I am angry and deeply hurt by such a senseless and violent attack on Minneapolis’ Finest,” O’Hara said, according to a text released by the department. He continued: “As police officers we know that dying in the line of duty is always possible, but the harsh reality is very painful when it happens.”
Mitchell was killed during a chaotic crime scene two blocks apart that left three civilians dead, including the shooter, two others hospitalized in critical condition, and another officer and a firefighter with less serious injuries . Video clearly shows Mitchell was ambushed, Chief Inspector Drew Evans of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said at a news conference Thursday evening.
O’Hara said the gunman “killed” Mitchell as the officer tried to help him, and continued to shoot him after he fell to the ground. Mitchell died in a hospital.
Gov. Tim Walz ordered flags to be flown at half-staff across Minnesota beginning at sunrise Friday, calling Mitchell “a dedicated public servant and hero” who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“Our first responders are the first to intervene during a crisis,” the governor said in a statement early Friday. “We must never take their commitment for granted and we must ensure that they can fulfill their duty without fear for their own lives.”
At the news conference Thursday evening, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said authorities were still investigating and asked people to “bear with us as we don’t know all the facts yet. We want to make sure the investigation is completed and we are doing it the right way.”
Law enforcement officials there gave a brief account of what happened. When Mitchell was about two blocks from the complex, he got out of his car to render aid to a man who appeared injured and then shot him. Another officer arrived and exchanged gunfire with the gunman, who died at the scene despite officers’ efforts to save him, Assistant Police Chief Katie Blackwell said. The officer suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
Evans said another person, believed to be an innocent bystander, was shot and taken to a hospital in critical condition. A firefighter was also shot and injured. Other officers who went to the apartment found two people inside who had been shot. Police said they may have been residents there. One was dead and the other was hospitalized in critical condition, Evans said. He said the people in the apartment “kind of knew each other.”
The shooting occurred three months after two officers and a firefighter-paramedic were killed in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville while responding to a domestic violence call. In that case, a man started shooting from a house while seven children were inside. A third officer was injured before the man committed suicide.
Mitchell, a father who was engaged, had been with the department for less than 18 months. Minneapolis police honored Mitchell and another officer last year for saving an elderly couple from a house fire.
O’Hara recalled early Friday that he had sworn in Mitchell in October 2022 and praised him for the save last year.
“Jamal died a hero, and like Minneapolis police officers who stood behind me here and everywhere, he was one of the few who had the courage to stand up and answer the call every day,” the chief said.
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Associated Press reporter Mark Thiessen contributed to this story from Anchorage, Alaska.