REPORT: Protesters Attack Minneapolis Cops After Officer-Involved Shooting

A group of anti-cop protesters attacked Minneapolis police officers following an officer-involved shooting Wednesday night. Officers reportedly shot an armed man who fired at them first, Minneapolis police officials stated.

A tweet by Minneapolis Star-Tribune reporter Kim Hyatt revealed that police came under attack from a group of protesters. The group of more than 100 protesters reportedly threw bricks and ice balls at the officers. The incident followed an officer-involved shooting that left a felony suspect dead.

Police dispatchers reportedly turned down the request to use the defensive weapon.

Star-Tribune reporter Alex Chhith tweeted a video showing a large crowd screaming at police and calling them murderers. “Abolish the police,” a woman yelled on a bull horn. “You f**king murders.”

Protesters gathered Wednesday night after an officer-involved shooting earlier in the evening.

Minneapolis police officers shot and killed a man in an exchange of gunfire shortly after 6 p.m. after officers initiated a traffic stop on a felony crime suspect, Fox9 reported. The suspect fired first at police officers before they returned fire, the police chief said in a news conference.

The Star-Tribune reports witness statements at the scene indicate the suspect fired first at the officers who stopped him. The article states a bullet hole is visible in one of the police cars.

The police chief said the officers wore body cams and he would try to release the videos on Thursday. He pleaded with protesters to remain peaceful.

During the press conference, Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said:

As chief, I recognize the trauma that our city has been under, and we want to do everything we can to maintain the peace. Our city has gone through too much. We need to keep our officers safe, we need to keep our community safe, and I tell you, we need to preserve that crime scene so that the facts can continue to come out as it relates to that.

The officers involved in the shooting are said to be part of the Community Response Team that focuses on high-crime areas.

Protesters grew more militant as the evening wore on. “Just had a snowball thrown at us. … This crowd is extremely close and hostile towards police. … If they choose to storm past us, we do not have the resources to hold this crowd back,” the local newspaper said, quoting police dispatch radio traffic.

By 9:40, protesters built a fire in the middle of an intersection.