A woman was killed and five men wounded late Sunday when a mass shooting turned Minneapolis’s Boom Island Park into a “war zone,” officials said.
Another woman was hospitalized after being knocked unconscious in the chaotic aftermath, Minnesota Police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters at a Monday-morning press conference at the park.
Investigators said there was likely more than one shooter, given the number of shell casings, and that no arrests had been made.
The Hennepin County Medical examiner identified the woman killed as 23-year-old Stageina Katraya Shapryia Whiting from Brooklyn Center on Monday. She suffered a gunshot wound to the torso.
The gunfire broke out during a dispute at a large gathering in the Mississippi River-adjacent park, O’Hara said, and calls began coming in around 9:30 p.m. Police arrived to find about 100 people in the park.
Chief O’Hara said a large crowd had gathered at the park Sunday evening, perhaps for a BBQ, when an argument escalated into gunfire. His investigators believe multiple shooters were involved in the incident, as hundreds of pieces of evidence were strewn around the park, many of them empty shell casings.
“It’s more akin to a war zone, the amount of casings found in the park. It’s sickening and we need people to come forward,” O’Hara said. “The level of violence displayed in this shooting is absolutely sickening, and our investigators will work diligently to bring whoever is responsible to justice.”
Mayor Jacob Frey called the violence “completely unacceptable” in a social media post stating that just this week, the city launched “Operation Safe Summer” to curb violence. City statistics showed more than three dozen law enforcement units responded to the gunfire.
CBS News reports that at least one Minneapolis City Council member wants to see Boom Island close its gates by 8 p.m.
