Livewire

Gunman Opens Fire At MN City Council, Injuring Two Cops Before Being Killed (VIDEO)

by Catherine Thompson

01.27.15 | 7:07 am

Authorities said a gunman was dead after he opened fire at a city council meeting outside Minneapolis, injuring two police officers.

Authorities said a gunman was dead after he opened fire Monday night at a city council meeting outside Minneapolis, injuring two police officers.

Video obtained by local TV station KARE captures the moment when shots rang out outside the council chamber in New Hope, Minnesota as a meeting was wrapping up.

Police officers were confronted by a man with a gun when they exited the council chambers around 7:15 p.m, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Mike Carlson told the news station. Two of the officers had just been sworn in, he said.

The gunman struck two of the officers, Carlson said. Other officers then returned fire, killing the gunman.

Carlson told the news station that the injured officers were in good condition.

On the video, one person inside the council chambers, identified by KARE as city councilman and police officer John Elder, can be heard yelling “Get down! Get down! Everybody get down!” He then draws a gun.

“That went right through the door,” another person can be heard saying. “Somebody got shot.”

“If this is being taped, go to commercial, go away from this,” the man identified as Elder then says. At that point, audio cuts out on the video.

Police didn’t confirm whether the two officers who were sworn in, identified by local TV station KSTP as Jushua Eernisse and Adam Johnson, were the two officers who were injured. The gunman has also not been identified.

Watch below via KARE:

This post has been updated.

Send Tips

Catherine Thompson Catherine Thompson is a senior editor for Talking Points Memo in New York City. She came to the site in 2013 and reported on national affairs. Previously, she worked as a research assistant to investigative reporter Wayne Barrett. She can be reached at catherine@talkingpointsmemo.com.

Show Comments

Notable Replies

trumpdog says:

January 27, 2015

Awful. The officers hadn’t even had a chance to begin their jobs in an official capacity before being shot.

Glad the perp was stopped before he could do even more damage. Also glad the cops will be ok
Patriott says:

January 27, 2015

Curious that the two council members in black are duckling/hiding (must be those infamous fearful Republicans we hear so much about) while the one in tan doesn’t even flinch - must be a democrat that’s secure in his manhood.

I’m sure the best solution here is for everyone to be required by law to carry a weapon at all times.
cincypix says:

January 27, 2015

I didn’t know New Hope’s public access channel had commercials LOL.

Maybe the perp should have waited for “Polka Spotlight” instead.
randyabraham says:

January 27, 2015

What’s the over-under on how long it will take for a wingnut to accuse the gunman of being a registered Democrat who voted for Obama twice?
avattoir says:

January 27, 2015
Better known quote:

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
- Thomas Jefferson, former POTUS
Lesser known quote:

Okay, people, listen up: by “from time to time”, understand what he really MEANT was that you pretty much have to treat it like that ficus you assumed responsibility for and brought into your work place, be it a regular business session of the budget and planning subcommittee of a local government entity, or Tuesday morning sessions in an early child education development class for the kiddies - whatever, you must refresh refresh refresh on a regular periodic basis or else the tyranny sets in like quick drying cement and you get over-regulation of submission exhibit sizing or kiddies grow dependent on their mid-morning juice box breaks. And by “refresh”, just a reminder people, I mean, full metal jacket reliance on the latest high tech, be it exploding ammo, laser sighting, or automatic burst firing on motion sensor activity. And finally, by “blood”, face facts folks, he meant actual blood, guts, gore, burst organs, brains scattered about, intestines unraveling out of the body cavity, generalized mayhem, personally disabling agony, death, that sort of thing. Now, all of these precautions are necessary to the preservation of basic liberty, folks, so at this particular moment let’s just go right ahead and shut your pizza pie holes with all that pointless complaining.
- Tragg Jefferson, non-com reserve member/veteran, subcommittee co-chair on Bull Run re-enactments, proud usually-paid-up member in mostly good standing NRA, block parent, neighborhood vigilante, conservative activist, committed evangelical Christian pro-lifer.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

6 more replies

Participants

Continue Discussion