BCA identifies two officers who fired weapons during fatal assault of fellow officer
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has provided more details about the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis police officer, including identifying the two Minneapolis officers who fired their guns during the shootout in the Whittier neighborhood of south Minneapolis.
Three people died and four were injured in the incident Thursday.
The BCA gave the following details in a news release Sunday night, which follows a preliminary investigation:
Minneapolis police received a call at 5:15 p.m. Thursday about two people shot inside an apartment at 2221 Blaisdell Ave S.
Jamal Mitchell, 36, was the first police officer to arrive on scene. He stopped about a block away from the building. He said on his radio that he saw two men with injuries in the street. The two men were later identified as Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed, 35, of St. Paul, and a bystander.
The BCA release says Mitchell got out of his car and approached Mohamed, who was sitting next to a parked vehicle, and asked Mohamed if he was hurt. Mohamed pulled out a handgun and shot Mitchell at close range, and Mitchell fell to the ground incapacitated.
Other officers arriving on the scene saw Mohamed continue to shoot Mitchell. As they approached, Mohamed began shooting at them, according to the release. Nick Kapinos and Luke Kittock fired, hitting Mohamed. Kapinos used his department handgun and Kittock used his department rifle.
The release says the Minneapolis officers attempted life-saving care. Mohamed died at the scene, and Mitchell later died at the Hennepin County Medical Center. Kittock and a Minneapolis firefighter were injured, and both were treated and released from the hospital. The bystander who was shot before police arrived remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
A handgun with an extended magazine and numerous cartridge casings were recovered at the shooting scene, BCA officials said. Investigators are reviewing all video footage of the shootings including body camera and squad car camera footage.
In addition, the BCA is investigating a shooting in the apartment building where another man, Osman Said Jimale, 32, was shot dead.
Kittock has nine years of law enforcement experience.
Kapinos has 10 years of law enforcement experience. He was one of several Minneapolis police officers who responded to a standoff call resulting in the July 14, 2022, death of Tekle Sundberg. The 20-year-old Sundberg was shot and killed by two police snipers who fired through the window of his apartment. Sundberg had barricaded himself inside an apartment after firing shots into a neighboring apartment. Kapinos didn’t fire his weapon in the incident, and no charges were filed against the officers involved in Sundberg’s death after an investigation determined the shooting was legally authorized.
The BCA will present findings from the investigations to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, which will review them and consider charges.
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