MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police and the Minneapolis Fire Department are investigating after a fire broke out at a home on the 2700 block of 15th Ave. South hours after a man was shot and killed inside the same residence.
According to police, Third Precinct officers responded to the home around 11:25 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28 and found a 35-year-old man, later identified as Frank Ortley, of Minneapolis, inside the home with multiple apparent gunshot wounds.
Police said in a press release they believe a fight between Ortley and another man escalated into gunfire.
"Last night, there were four or five gunshots," said Connor Kennedy, who lives next-door.
Forensic scientists processed the scene and collected evidence at the residence, but hours later Minneapolis fire crews responded to the same building to take down a large fire.
Ronald Curtis, who lives across the street from the scene, said he was up early on Saturday and went outside to see if the crime scene tape was down from in front of the home.
"I looked across the street and I seen a couple of people, and I seen a glow in the window, so I called 911," Curtis said.
The department said when crews arrived around 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, there was a "heavy fire" showing from the front porch and first floor of the 2 1/2 story building. Crews extinguished the fire on the first floor, but it spread to the second level.
After putting out the bulk of the fire crews extinguished the remaining flames and hotspots. No one was inside the home at the time of the fire.
The Minneapolis Fire Department said the house was deemed uninhabitable as a result of the blaze. Both the homicide, which police say is the city's 72nd of the year, and the cause of the fire remain under investigation.
Neither police nor the fire department has confirmed if the homicide and fire are related.
Multiple neighbors said that since the beginning of the year, they have seen people dealing and using drugs daily.
"I'm sorry, but this has gone on for a long time," said a resident living nearby who asked to remain anonymous. "And it's really hard to live in a neighborhood where we're supposed to accept this is normal."
That resident said she has reached out to MPD and city leaders for months, but nothing has changed.
"It's frustration," she said. "That's what really hurts."
This is a developing story. KARE 11 will provide more details as new information becomes available.
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