Minneapolis Apartment Shooting Leaves Two Dead Officers Hurt
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What happened
On a Wednesday afternoon, Carlton Johnson II, 35, opened fire at the Shoreline Plaza apartment complex in downtown Minneapolis during a child custody exchange. He shot a woman with whom he had a relationship in the leg outside the building, then entered the complex, shot two building employees, and went to the ninth floor, where he fatally shot residents Dale Spry, 63, and Muse Afrah, 61. Johnson was killed in an exchange of gunfire with Minneapolis police. Two officers were wounded by gunfire and a third was cut by glass; the child at the custody exchange was physically unharmed. Officials said Johnson had been facing eviction from the building.
BLINDSPOT.
Only right-leaning outlets are covering this story
— the other side's media is silent.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage has not reported the downtown Minneapolis apartment shooting at all. Right-leaning coverage describes Carlton Johnson II killing two of his neighbors after opening fire during a child-custody exchange and then dying in a gunfight with police. The fact a reader of the silent side never sees is that Minneapolis police had already sent prosecutors a June case in which Johnson threatened a resident and brandished a firearm, and the county attorney declined to charge him for "insufficient evidence."
The prior-warning paper trail is uneven inside right-leaning coverage. Declined charges and an unfiled Extreme Risk Protection Order appear in the New York Post, while Fox News emphasizes injured officers and the pending eviction and does not mention the charging decision.
What evidence did the county attorney review before deciding it could not charge Johnson for brandishing a gun?
Bottom line
Left-leaning outlets have not reported the Shoreline Plaza shooting at all. The New York Post says prosecutors declined to charge Carlton Johnson II after he brandished a firearm, before he killed two neighbors.
The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty declined to prosecute a Minneapolis police case submitted Aug. 20 over a June 25 incident in which Johnson threatened a resident and brandished a firearm, citing insufficient evidence
- An Extreme Risk Protection Order that would have required Johnson to hand over his guns was flagged but not filed after a review found insufficient evidence
- A neighbor filed a harassment restraining order the day after the criminal case was submitted, citing fear entering and exiting the apartment
- Johnson was facing eviction after alleged assault and displaying a gun to residents and management
- At least one officer, Liban Mohamed Ibrahim, discharged his gun during the incident
The Right View
The New York Post, Fox News, and OAN report that the two civilians killed were Johnson’s neighbors at Shoreline Plaza and that he died of multiple gunshot wounds after exchanging fire with police. They describe a sequence given by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension: a custody-exchange shooting outside, attacks on building staff, then the ninth-floor killings, with investigators unable to say whether Spry and Afrah were specifically targeted. Coverage emphasizes prior clashes at the building, an eviction notice and a Sept. 11 hearing, a June 25 incident in which Johnson allegedly threatened a resident and brandished a firearm, a case submitted Aug. 20 to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty that was not charged for insufficient evidence, a neighbor’s harassment-restraining-order petition, and an Extreme Risk Protection Order review that also did not proceed. Named injured officers and Spry’s family comments are included.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive: named dead and injured, a named suspect, on-the-record BCA and police identifications, and checkable court and charging-file actions rather than a single uncorroborated account. Established by officials: two residents killed, Johnson killed by gunfire, two officers shot and a third cut by glass, the outdoor-to-ninth-floor sequence as described by the BCA, pending eviction, and Moriarty’s statement that the June 25 matter was not charged for lack of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Still alleged or unresolved: whether the two residents were targeted, some prior threats and assaults as described by residents and local reporting, and whether any officer besides the one named discharged a weapon. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for the medical examiner’s confirmation of Johnson’s identity, the full BCA account of who fired, the declined-charge file and ERPO review, and eviction and restraining-order records.
4 sources
- 2 killed in Minneapolis mass shooting ID’d as gunman’s neighbors: ‘Nobody deserves to die like that’
- Officials identify victims killed, officers injured in Minneapolis apartment shooting
- Minn. gunman was facing eviction prior to fatal shooting, records show
- What led to officer-involved Minneapolis shooting
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