Looting overnight after suspect shot by law enforcement in Minneapolis 

The person who was shot by law enforcement reportedly pulled a gun while resisting arrest.

A dumpster was started on fire near the scene of the shooting. (Rebecca Brannon)

Stores in the Uptown area were looted overnight after a felony suspect was fatally shot by law enforcement in a Minneapolis parking ramp.

At about 2:10 p.m. Thursday, a U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) task force attempted to arrest a person who was wanted on a state arrest warrant for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The person was in a parked car in a parking garage on the 1400 block of Lake Street. He was uncooperative, took out a handgun, and was then shot dead by members of the task force, according to USMS.

The decedent has not been officially identified by law enforcement, but some reports have named him as 32-year-old Winston Boogie Smith. According to Crime Watch Minneapolis, Smith was sentenced to 48 months in prison in October 2018 for aggravated robbery, but his sentence was stayed.

Protesters gathered near the parking ramp where he was killed throughout the day Thursday, lighting a dumpster on fire around 10 p.m.

There was no law enforcement presence on the scene for more than an hour. Police eventually used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Stores in the area were then looted around 1 a.m.

Update: The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said a Hennepin County sheriff’s deputy and a Ramsey County sheriff’s deputy serving on the U.S. Marshals North Star Fugitive Task Force fired their weapons at Smith.

The BCA said “evidence at the scene” indicates that Smith fired his weapon from inside the vehicle. BCA agents discovered a handgun and spent cartridge cases in the vehicle, according to a press release.

The USMS does not allow the use of body cameras for officers on the North Star Fugitive Task Force and there is no squad camera footage of the incident, the press release said.

This is a developing story. Check back at Alpha News for updates. 

 

Anthony Gockowski

Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.