Minneapolis police are detailing a frightening situation that unfolded Saturday morning as a shooter reportedly entered an apartment equipped with a multitude of weapons, including an AK-47.

The incident began late Friday night when the Minneapolis Police Department received a 911 call around 10:30 p.m. about an individual walking around with a shotgun around Minnehaha Avenue.

While police searched the area, officers were unable to find this person. However, police were later contacted dozens of times Saturday morning around 4:30 a.m., now with reports of shots being fired on the 4000 block of Minnehaha Avenue.

Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooter had entered an apartment on the street, seemingly damaging the door by shooting it. When officers began to search the building, they found a shotgun sitting in “plain view” of an open door and heard additional gunfire in the apartment.

Residents were evacuated from the building by law enforcement as more officers continued to search for the suspected shooter, who was found in the stairwell armed with what appeared to be an AK-47 and a .45 handgun.

The suspect was also equipped with what Chief O’Hara called a military-style flak jacket and a backpack that was later found to contain ammunition.

Chief O’Hara said one officer was able to shoot the suspect, striking his jaw, which allowed other officers to disarm him. The suspect was in critical but stable condition and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

He is expected to survive.

The officer who fired their weapon and those who witnessed the event have been placed on administrative leave, and the Minnesota BCA is investigating the incident.

While two residences were damaged from the gunfire, Minneapolis police said no one was injured besides the suspected shooter.

“Thankfully, there are no other residents, there are no other community members, no other persons were injured as a result of this incident,” Chief O’Hara said. “Thank God no one was hurt.”

O’Hara, who walked through the apartment himself, described the event as “terrifying” but praised the officer’s handling of the situation.

“I can’t say how thankful I am for the men and women of the Minneapolis police that responded here,” O’Hara said. “I know it must have took incredible courage and valor to do exactly what they’re trained to do. I’m incredibly thankful for the way the officers performed here today.”

At this time, police are unsure of what the suspected shooter’s motive was.

The event is just the latest shooting-related event in Minneapolis this week, which has seen at least nine different shootings in the city.

“It’s been an exhausting week for everybody in Minneapolis,” O’Hara said. “We’ve had just a terrible amount of shootings and murders over the last week. We were hopeful that our city would get a break from some of this violence.”

The Agate Shelter in downtown Minneapolis is in danger of closing, but it may be getting some help from the City of Minneapolis.

“Over 130 people call this place home at any given time,” declares Kyle Hanson, executive director of Agate Housing and Services. “This is temporary and transitional housing for people who are some of the hardest to house in the community.” 

Shawn, 40, who’s lived in the shelter for about two months, says he’s not sure where he’d lived if it closed.

“Probably back in my car,” he says. “I was in my car since January, lost my job in January. “

The shelter building is a hundred years old, has broken ceilings, leaky plumbing, damaged bathrooms, and buckled floors. It comes as the city is grappling with the homelessness issue.

“The system is tapped out, shelters are full, transitional housing is hard to find,” Hanson explains. “One hundred thirty-plus beds are really hard to come by, and this model is not something that would be able to be easily replaced.”

Government figures show there are 36 active encampments in the city, with 172 people living in them.

The dashboard also shows there were 297 calls to the non-emergency hotline in August regarding people experiencing homeless — the highest in a year.

“We’re in a moment in our city where we are having a crisis,” says Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez. “We are having a difficult time finding a way to address unsheltered homelessness.”

Now, Chavez and two other council members are proposing to spend $1.5 million — an emergency rehab grant — to pay for repairs at the shelter and at its food shelf.

“What we’re doing in essence is making sure we don’t permanently lose critical housing services in the City of Minneapolis, instead preserve them,” he notes. “Making sure people have a place to go when they’re in a bad situation.”

To receive the grant, Agate will have to secure $1.5 million in matching funds by the end of next year.

“Money is hard to come by in the nonprofit world,” Hanson says. “I have reached out to non-government partners to let them know this new funding has come about.”

He says without $3-5 million in funding, Agate will have to close the shelter by early October.  

Chavez hopes to discuss the grant plan during a budget committee meeting on Sept. 16.

“Some of our residents will have a place to sleep at night,” he says. “If we were to permanently lose that, that is a very scary situation for many residents in our city, and many more who are unhoused and unsheltered.”

Hanson says if Agate receives the grant, the shelter will temporarily close for about six to 12 months, but he says the nonprofit will work to relocate its clients.

He adds they’ll also try to find jobs within the organization for the 23 employees now working at the shelter.

Hanson says half of Agate’s employees have experienced homelessness in their lives.

“This is a huge investment from the city into a really important resource for the community,” he explains.

Shawn, meanwhile, says he hopes the shelter can continue functioning after the rehab work.

“We’re not here because we want to be here,” he declares. “Half of us got families, kids, grandkids, and we didn’t want to hit rock bottom. I hope that program stays working — if you want stable housing, there’s stable housing.”

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