Officials identify victims killed, officers injured in Minneapolis apartment shooting
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Two residents were killed and two police officers were shot and wounded when a gunman opened fire at a Minneapolis apartment complex, an incident that began during a domestic child custody exchange. Minnesota officials have now released the identities of all involved, confirming that gunman Carlton Neal Johnson II, 35, died from multiple gunshot wounds after an exchange of fire with officers, with his death ruled a homicide. The shooting also left a third officer injured in an unrelated incident, and investigators say Johnson had been facing eviction from the building at the time.
The two civilian victims were named as residents Dale Henry Spry, 63, and Muse A. Afrah, 61 — one died at the scene and the other in hospital. Officers Yahye Ahmed and Joseph Michnowski were both shot, with Ahmed released from hospital the following day and Michnowski undergoing surgery; a third officer, Ernest Boateng, was cut by glass while breaking into a locked, sirening police vehicle and was treated and released. Officer Liban Mohamed Ibrahim was identified as having discharged his weapon during the incident, though investigators are still determining whether other officers also fired. Officials said Johnson shot a woman he had previously been in a relationship with outside the building, then a facility worker inside, before going to the ninth floor and shooting the two residents who later died; it remains unclear whether the victims were specifically targeted.
- Gunman killed two residents, wounded two officers in Minneapolis before being shot dead
- Victims named as Dale Henry Spry, 63, and Muse A. Afrah, 61
- Shooting began during a domestic child custody exchange; gunman faced eviction
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Rescuers and residents at the apartment block spent Wednesday dealing with a shooting that began during a child custody exchange, when a man is alleged to have shot a woman he had previously dated outside the building before moving inside and opening fire again. Police responded and an exchange of gunfire followed, during which the suspected gunman, later named as Carlton Neal Johnson II, 35, was killed.
The people affected include two residents of the building, Dale Henry Spry, 63, and Muse A. Afrah, 61, who both died, and two police officers, Yahye Ahmed and Joseph Michnowski, who were shot and needed hospital treatment. A third officer was hurt in a separate, unrelated incident while forcing open a police vehicle. Officials have not said whether the residents who died were deliberately targeted or caught up in the incident as it moved through the building.
The case matters because it involves multiple deaths and injuries to both civilians and police in a residential building, and because investigators are still piecing together what happened and why, including the gunman's circumstances, such as a reported pending eviction, in the lead-up to the shooting.
Full account
Minnesota authorities have named the two residents killed and the police officers hurt in a shooting at a Minneapolis apartment block on Wednesday, as the investigation into the attack continues. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said the gunman, 35-year-old Carlton Johnson II, opened fire at the high-rise building during what began as a child custody handover, before he was shot dead by officers who exchanged gunfire with him. A preliminary post-mortem examination found he died of multiple gunshot wounds, and his death has been classified as a homicide.
The two civilians who died were named as Dale Henry Spry, 63, and Muse Afrah, 61 (reported by one outlet with the middle name Abdi and by another as simply 'A.'), both said to have lived on the ninth floor of the complex, where Johnson also had a flat. One outlet identified the building as Shoreline Plaza, previously known as Loring Towers, and reported that Spry was a US Army veteran who had served in Iraq and was well known locally as a contractor and community figure; his nephew and a former partner described him to local media as widely respected and loved within Minneapolis's Northside and Native American communities. This background on Spry featured prominently in one report but was not covered in the other, which focused more heavily on the police and investigative response.
According to Drew Evans, the BCA's superintendent, the violence began when Johnson shot the mother of his child outside the building during a custody exchange; she survived, with one account crediting responding officers with applying a tourniquet that Minneapolis's mayor said likely saved her life. Johnson is then reported to have entered the building and shot a member of staff at close range before making his way to the ninth floor, where he killed Spry and Afrah. Officials said Johnson had reportedly been facing eviction from the property, with one outlet citing court records and another suggesting this followed complaints about erratic conduct, though investigators have not said whether Johnson deliberately targeted any of the victims.
Two Minneapolis police officers were shot and injured while responding: Joseph Michnowski, a five-year veteran who underwent surgery and remained in hospital as of Thursday afternoon, and Yahye Ahmed, who had served nearly two years and was discharged the same day. A third officer, Ernest Boateng, was hurt breaking a squad-car window but not by gunfire, and was treated and released on the day of the shooting. Investigators said officers reaching the ninth floor encountered reduced visibility, possibly caused by a fire extinguisher struck by gunfire, and confirmed that one officer, Liban Mohamed Ibrahim, is known to have discharged his weapon, though the BCA said it was still working to establish whether other officers also fired.
Where outlets differ
Spelling of the second victim's name varies: 'Muse A. Afrah' versus 'Muse Abdi Afrah'.
The suspect's full name is given as 'Carlton Neal Johnson II' in one report and simply 'Carlton Johnson II' in the other.
Only one source names the building (Shoreline Plaza, formerly Loring Towers); the other does not identify it by name.
One report includes extensive human-interest material on victim Dale Spry — his military service, community standing and tributes from family — which the other omits entirely, focusing instead on procedural and investigative detail.
Accounts of the reason for Johnson's eviction differ slightly: one attributes it to court records reviewed by a local outlet, the other frames it as stemming from 'bizarre behaviour' without citing a specific source.
Only one report gives a precise timeline detail (a 4:36pm emergency call) and describes officers applying a tourniquet to the injured mother, plus a quote from the mayor about it saving her life — details absent from the other account.
One source references a 'haze' hampering officers' visibility on the ninth floor, possibly from a fire extinguisher hit by gunfire; the other does not mention this.
Total casualty figures differ across reporting — one referenced a wider figure of several people wounded in addition to the two fatalities and two injured officers, while the other's detailed body count centres on two civilian deaths and two officers hurt by gunfire, plus one officer hurt by glass, without giving an overall wounded tally.