Minnesota National Guard says joint team with Minneapolis police was target of drive-by shooting

Two guardsmen were injured early Sunday morning when someone fired at a Minnesota National Guard and Minneapolis Police Department neighborhood security team, the Minnesota National Guard said.

According to the Minnesota National Guard, the shooting occurred around 4:19 a.m., when someone in a light-colored SUV opened fire on an Operation Safety Net security team that was watching over the neighborhood.

One guardsman was injured from shattered glass and was taken to a local hospital to be treated, and another sustained superficial injuries.

“I am relieved to know none of our Guardsmen were seriously injured,” Maj. Gen. Shawn Manke, Minnesota National Guard adjutant general, said in a statement.

“This event highlights the volatility and tension in our communities right now. I ask for peace as we work through this difficult time,” he added.

The Minnesota National Guard, according to a statement, was activated as part of Operation Safety Net, a joint undertaking by the Minneapolis Police Department, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the state of Minnesota and local jurisdictions to “protect people, freedom of speech and property during the Derek Chauvin trial as well as the aftermath of the police involved shooting of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center.”

The incident on Sunday comes amid a surge in police-involved shootings throughout the country.

On April 11, the 20-year-old Wright was killed by police in Brooklyn Center, Minn. The local police chief, who later resigned, said he believes the officer meant to draw her Taser but mistakenly pulled her gun instead.

A Chicago police officer shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo last month. The body camera footage of the shooting was released on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, the defense rested its case in the trial of Derek Chauvin, who is charged with the murder of George Floyd.

Chauvin was captured on video footage last May kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The Hennepin County medical examiner in June 2020 ruled Floyd’s death a homicide.