Police said late Sunday night that one woman was dead after a suspect drove a vehicle into protesters in Minneapolis.
At around 11:39 p.m. local time, police said, the suspect drove his vehicle into protesters near Lake Street and Girard Avenue. Initially, it was reported that three protesters had been transported to a nearby hospital, with one confirmed at the time to be in “very critical” condition. Shortly after, police said the suspect was “pulled from the car by protesters” and was ultimately taken into police custody.
In subsequent updates, police reported that two people had been injured, later announcing that an adult female had been pronounced deceased.
Per a report early Monday morning from the Associated Press, police are currently claiming that a motive for the suspect is unknown. Authorities also said their preliminary investigation showed “drugs or alcohol” could have been a contributing factor.
Complex has reached out to the Minneapolis Police Department for additional comment and will update this post accordingly.
Protests have continued in the region in recent days in response to the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Winston Boogie Smith Jr. earlier this month. The 27-year-old woman who was a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the fatal shooting, which saw U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force members reportedly trying to arrest Smith in connection with allegedly being a felon in possession of a gun, said she never saw a weapon on Smith or in the vehicle.
“She never saw a gun on Winston Smith leading up to the shooting, and she never saw a gun inside the vehicle at any time,” the woman’s attorneys said in a statement released last week, per the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
