Two guards were injured Sunday morning when someone shot at a security team in the neighborhood of the Minnesota National Guard and the Minneapolis Police Department, 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 guarding the neighborhood.
One guard was injured due to a broken glass and was taken to a local hospital for treatment, and another suffered superficial injuries.
“I am relieved to know that none of our guards were seriously injured,” Chief of General Shawn Manke, deputy general of the Minnesota National Guard, said in a statement.
“This event highlights the volatility and tension of our communities at the moment. 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 venture of the Minneapolis Police Department, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the state of Minnesota and the local jurisdictions to “protect people, during the Derek Chauvin trial, as well as the consequences of the police that involved the shooting of Daunte Wright at the Brooklyn Center”.
Sunday’s incident comes amid an increase in police-related shootings across the country.
On April 11, Wright, 20, was killed by police at Brooklyn Center, Minn. The local police chief, who later resigned, said he believed the officer intended to draw her Taser, but broke it by mistake.
A Chicago police officer shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo last month. Camera footage of the shooting was released Thursday.
Also Thursday, the defense rested its case in the trial of Derek Chauvin, accused of 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 coroner in June 2020 ruled Floyd’s death a homicide.