A Minneapolis man who fatally shot two people and wounded several others, including three police officers, inside his apartment building on Wednesday was facing eviction and had threatened others with violence, according to court records.
The gunman, who was also killed, was identified as Carlton Neal Johnson II, according to a senior city official speaking on condition of anonymity because the name had not been officially released by the local medical examiner. The identities of the two dead victims have not been released.
Investigators had not conclusively established how Mr. Johnson died as of Wednesday night, according to a statement issued by the city. In addition to the three police officers who were wounded, three people were being treated for gunshot wounds and two additional police officers were injured in a car crash while rushing to the scene.
Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis said the police officers who rushed to the site of the attack, the Shoreline Plaza apartment building, in response to calls about an active shooting most likely averted a bigger tragedy.
“The courage and bravery these officers exhibited is practically unrivaled,” Mr. Frey said in an interview Thursday morning. “They were rescuing victims at the same time as they were taking bullets themselves.”
The first 911 call came at 4:36 p.m., and officers began arriving at the building three minutes later, according to the police. Officers rushed inside the apartment complex, responding to reports of gunfire and the shooting of at least one person.
When officers entered the building, they immediately discovered more victims and heard shots coming from above. The police followed the gunfire to the upper floor on the building and encountered a haze there that limited their visibility.
Two officers were shot, and a third was injured during the shooting but not by gunfire.
The officers who were shot were in stable condition on Wednesday night and expected to make a full recovery, city officials said. The conditions of the others were not clear on Thursday.
Bill Peterson, the city’s interim police chief, told reporters on Wednesday night that police officials had previous interactions with the gunman. But the authorities have not disclosed a motive.
The investigation into the shooting is being led by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a state agency that generally reviews shootings that involve the police.
Court filings show that Mr. Johnson, 35, was facing eviction from a subsidized apartment at the Shoreline Plaza building, which is in the Loring Park district of Minneapolis, a southern section of downtown.
He had been living there since at least March of last year, according to a copy of his lease. A lawyer for the building told Mr. Johnson in a June 16 letter that the building intended to terminate the lease later that month over a series of transgressions.
The letter accused Mr. Johnson of having assaulted a resident in March and said he had threatened others, at times by walking around the building displaying a firearm. In mid-June, according to the letter, Mr. Johnson “made multiple statements to other residents that you had obtained a new gun and would kill someone.”
Kevin Swanberg, a lawyer employed by Hennepin County who represented Mr. Johnson in the eviction case, wrote in a court filing that Mr. Johnson had license to carry a handgun. Mr. Swanberg said his client had not violated any provision in his lease and “never threatened anyone with his firearm.”
A Hennepin County judge had scheduled a trial on Sept. 11 to settle the eviction dispute.
Yvonne Bryant, Mr. Johnson’s mother, said in a brief interview on Thursday that she wanted answers about what happened. She declined to speak in detail about her son.
Umecua Agnew, 48, who lives in the building, was about to step out of the elevator in the lobby when she heard a burst of gunfire.
“I grabbed the baby that was in front of me, pulled her back in, and we hit the buttons,” said Ms. Agnew, who got to her apartment and locked the door. “You could hear the gunshots still going on.”
Ms. Agnew said she had run into Mr. Johnson at their building in the past but didn’t know him well. She said residents had been wary of him because Mr. Johnson sometimes displayed a gun in public areas.
Madaleine Rubin and Jeff Ernst contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
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