Two officers shot, suspect dead after Minneapolis police search

A burglary suspect was killed and two police officers shot in a fast-paced string of events in Minnesota on Friday that also involved the death of a motorcyclist.

The episode began about 2 p.m. when someone called Minneapolis police to say they had seen a man they thought had burglarized their home last week.

When officers arrived, they spotted the suspect, who began to drive off. He struck a police car and almost hit an officer who was on foot, Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau told reporters at a news conference Friday night. The vehicle crashed and the man fled into the neighborhood, setting off a search, Harteau said.

Then a resident alerted police about a break-in. The resident happened to be Jim Bickal, a producer with Minnesota Public Radio news. As the station reported, Bickal had come home and noticed a smashed window as he came up to his back porch.

Harteau said a police dog and his handler entered the home first. The man attacked the dog and “an intense struggle then ensued,” Harteau said. More officers went in to help.

Bickal and his neighbors heard gunshots. Then Bickal saw an officer emerge, being treated for what looked like a gunshot wound to the leg, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

A second officer was also shot in the struggle. The suspect was shot and killed, Harteau said.

Harteau said the suspect had a long arrest history. The suspect’s name has not yet been released, nor the names of the two officers, who were transported to Hennepin County Medical Center and listed in stable condition.

As the shooting was unfolding, a second fatality occurred. A squad car on the way to the scene collided with a motorcycle carrying two riders, Harteau said.

A man on the motorcycle was pronounced dead, and a woman riding with him was injured and taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where she was listed in stable condition.

“This is a tragic situation for all involved,” Harteau said at the news conference.

She declined to release further details, saying that the investigation is ongoing.

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