Homicide Investigation Underway After Fight Leads To Shooting Near Downtown Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Police are investigating an overnight homicide just south of downtown Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis Police Department says officers responded to a 911 call of a fight just before 4 a.m. at an apartment complex on the 1700 block of 3rd Avenue South. Shots rang out shortly thereafter.

Inside one of the apartments, officers found a man gravely injured. The individual, identified as 59-year-old Joseph Benjamin Jr. Majors, did not have a pulse. No one else was in the apartment.

Officers performed CPR on the man until paramedics arrived. Majors was loaded into an ambulance and brought to Hennepin Healthcare, where he was pronounced dead.

So far, no arrests have been made. However, police say that there is evidence to suggest this was a homicide, not a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder says that the investigation is underway, and it's complicated by the fact that it happened in a multi-family dwelling.

"Once we are able to gather the [victim's] identity from the medical examiner, we can really start drilling down a little more as to what that person might have been doing there, who that person might have had issues with," Elder said. He said it's currently not clear if the victim lived at the apartment complex.

Minneapolis is experiencing a surge in crime this summer. According to Elder, the number of homicides this year is on track to double last year's total.

When asked if the city is safe, Elder said that he believes it is, despite the uptick in homicides. In fact, crime is actually down year-over-year in the city's First Precinct, which encompasses downtown Minneapolis.

Anyone with information on the overnight shooting is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Tips may also be provided anonymously at www.CrimeStoppersMN.org.