MINNEAPOLIS — Residents of the Park Square Condominiums tell WCCO they are convinced that Thursday’s deadly shooting in broad daylight near Lake Street and Blaisdell in Minneapolis’ Whittier neighborhood, is tied to a recent encampment that now touches the walls of their homes. 

“Yes it is related to the encampment, it’s definitely related to the encampment,” said Lisa, who lives in the condominiums.

“This is one of those regrettable situations that should have never happened,” said Raymond Hoffman, Park Square Condominiums President.

The encampment, which residents said has butted against their homes along Blaisdell Avenue for a month now, was previously located across the street, at the old K-Mart site.

“People are scared. Here I’ve got 128 different families in this building,” said Hoffman.

One woman, who has tents right up to her first floor windows, said someone has to be home 24/7 to make sure no one breaks in.

Residents said they have witnessed drug sales, fires, even sexual assault.

“We are the victims, we live here and we’re watching our building get destroyed,” said Lisa.

Lisa and the more than hundred who live here said they want the city’s help with the encampment. It’s a problem acknowledged by Chief O’Hara.

“It’s a very serious problem that people who live in this area have been dealing with, both when the Kmart was here and still now,” said O’Hara.

Hoffman acknowledges the people in the encampments need help, but said they have no right to be in residents’ literal backyards.

“Hospitality for these people is essential, but not when they’re being criminals,” Hoffman.

Olivia Spies, 12, crossed the courtroom gripping a lined piece of notebook paper and gathered her strength. Her dad stood beside her, gently placing a hand on her back as she conveyed the pain their family endured when a stranger shot and wounded him in the line of duty last summer.

“What he did was horrific and devastating to me — and I will never forgive him,” she told the judge Thursday, recounting the shooting of Minneapolis police officer Jacob Spies. “My dad is a hero and does many courageous things for people he doesn’t even know.”

Fredrick Davis Jr., 19, of Minneapolis, received a 12-year prison sentence and was convicted of attempted second-degree intentional murder during an emotional hearing Thursday, packed with uniformed police officers and command staff. Davis pleaded guilty last month, admitting to firing a dozen rounds at Spies, who was driving an unmarked car with tinted windows, on Aug. 11 during a joint enforcement detail on the North Side.

But Davis denied intentionally targeting a police officer, saying he pulled the trigger out of fear.

In his victim impact statement, Spies recounted how he’d been patrolling alone when he spotted a white SUV suspected of fleeing police following a robbery an hour earlier. He pursued the vehicle for about a mile and, just as he crested a hill, noticed the Chevy parked with its lights off.

Suddenly, Spies was overtaken by a volley of automatic gunfire — a sensation similar to having fireworks thrown at his car — and felt his right arm go numb.

He frantically radioed for help and sped away from the scene, expecting to drive himself to the hospital. But responding officers intercepted their wounded colleague and police initiated a high-speed chase that continued for 26 blocks until the Chevy crashed into a parked car.

The bullet remains embedded in the back of Spies’ shoulder, “a permanent souvenir” from that chaotic night.

“This was a calculated and planned ambush,” said Spies, a seven-year MPD veteran who was awarded a Medal of Honor and the department’s first Purple Heart. He lamented that Davis influenced a younger boy into participating and continued down a path of “felonious criminal activity” several years after Spies arrested him fleeing police in a stolen vehicle.

In December, a 17-year-old who shot at Spies but didn’t strike him also pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder. As part of his plea deal, William Ward Jr. is receiving treatment at the Red Wing juvenile facility and will remain on extended probation until he’s 21.

Senior Assistant County Attorney Patrick Lofton noted that Davis was riding around with multiple guns — one fully automatic and the other an unregistered ghost gun — with a juvenile in the car. It was mere luck that Spies survived the ordeal, he said, arguing that Davis’ actions demonstrated an extreme risk to public safety.

“His behavior exhibits a worldview in which you shoot first and ask questions later,” Lofton said, imploring Hennepin County Judge Hilary Caligiuri to impose a nearly 13-year prison term, the top of the sentencing guidelines box.

In response, Davis’ public defender Elizabeth Karp urged the court to consider the context. Davis survived a gunshot wound to the chest a year prior at the State Fair, resulting in lasting trauma. It made him afraid to leave the house, she said, and he obtained a firearm from a relative for protection.

Karp pushed back on the prosecutions’ depiction of Aug. 8, explaining that Davis saw an unknown vehicle following him that night and immediately “kicked into a fight or flight mode.”

“Mr. Davis made a bad choice in a panicked state of mind,” Karp said, acknowledging that it was not an excuse for what happened. “I don’t think the evidence shows that he knew who was in that car.”

She asked that the judge sentence Davis to 11 years, the lowest end of the box.

When given a chance to speak, Davis turned to his family in the front row and broke down explaining that he “didn’t know it was a police officer.” Davis said he took responsibility for crime, but denied forcing anyone else to participate or ever fleeing police that day.

“I’m not a bad person at all…I got family too,” he said, sniffling as he pleaded with the judge for a lighter sentence. “Everybody should get a second chance at life. Everybody makes mistakes.”

Caligiuri opted for a sentence near the top of the range, taking six months off for his willingness to accept a plea deal. Davis will spend less than 8 years in prison after accounting for time already served. In Minnesota, those sentenced to prison spend two-thirds of the sentence in custody and one-third under supervision.

His family left the courtroom wiping their eyes, then walked through a flank of two dozen uniformed officers taking turns embracing Spies in the hallway.

Outside, Davis’ mother who declined to be identified defended the character of her son, a high school graduate and “a good person… who has been through more than what people actually know.”

“To know Fred is to love Fred,” she said.

In the lobby, surrounded by fellow officers and Chief Brian O’Hara, Spies hailed the conclusion of a long criminal justice process that has weighed on his family.

“I’m glad it’s over,” he said, thanking the broader law enforcement community for their outpouring of support. “It means a lot to me.”

On Thursday, a man who pleaded guilty to shooting at – and injuring – a Minneapolis police officer will be sentenced.

As previously reported, Officer Jacob Spies – who was undercover at the time – was shot in the shoulder while in an unmarked vehicle by 19-year-old Frederick Leon Davis Jr.

Prosecutors say Davis fired at least 15 shots at Spies, and court documents say a bullet narrowly missed a main artery in Spies’ right arm.

Federal affidavit shows Minneapolis officer narrowly escaped death

While Spies was released from the hospital later that night, he has since received the first-ever Purple Heart from the city, as well as a medal of honor.

2 MPD officers receive Purple Hearts for injuries sustained in the field

Last month, Davis entered a guilty plea to an attempted murder charge last month and is expected to receive a sentence that lasts at least 11 years.

Court documents state Spies was following a vehicle that was reported to be involved in a spree of robberies and carjackings in Brooklyn Park. It goes on to say one of two recovered guns was converted into an automatic weapon, which was linked to five different shootings in the Twin Cities area.

A teenager also pleaded guilty to his role in the case back in December. A woman accused of aiding Davis later had her case dismissed due to lack of probable cause.

2 charged in shooting that hurt Minneapolis police officer

Teen arrested, charged in August shooting that injured Minneapolis police officer

Case against woman accused of aiding suspect in officer shooting dismissed

The sentencing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. in Minneapolis. Check back for updates.