MINNEAPOLIS — A 3-year-old boy is dead after police say shots were fired Monday afternoon inside a northeast Minneapolis home.
Minneapolis police say officers were called to the 2300 block of Jefferson Street Northeast at around 12:45 p.m. on a report of a 3-year-old being shot. When officers arrived, they found the boy suffering from a gunshot wound and immediately rendered aid. Despite life-saving measures, police say the child died at the hospital.
“My thoughts are with the family of this little boy; they have experienced an unimaginable tragedy,” said MPD Chief Brian O’Hara in a statement. “The death of a young child has such a profound impact on both the child's immediate family and the first responders who tried so hard to save a life. As we conduct our investigation, I ask for compassion for all those whose lives have been forever altered today.”
MPD didn't offer many details but said they're investigating what led up to the shots being fired.
"We are currently trying to figure out if a crime has been committed or if it's an accidental incident that has taken place," MPD Assistant Chief Christopher Gaiters told reporters Monday. "As we continue to investigate, we are looking for any indicators of how exactly this incident took place in the loss of a child's life, but at this time we don't have any solid answers and we hope to find that out as we continue the investigation."
Gaiters said he believed that the 911 call came from someone who was with the child but didn't provide any additional information about the relationship between the caller and the young victim. It is also unclear if there were any other children inside the home at the time the shots were fired.
"It's very early, obviously, but we want to know what has taken place — whether or not a person ... has intentionally done something or not — we'll let the investigation tell us what the outcome will be," Gaiters said. "At this point, we're merely trying to figure out exactly what happened."
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is released.