Minneapolis Gunman Left Trail of Warning Signs
The man who carried out Wednesday’s deadly shooting at a Minneapolis apartment building had threatened his neighbors, repeatedly showed off his pistol and warned he was planning to shoot people, according to building residents, court documents and law enforcement officials. The building’s owners were trying to evict him, at least one person had sought a restraining order, and police investigated him in June for displaying a weapon — yet the county attorney’s office declined to file charges.
The Attack
Late Wednesday afternoon, 35-year-old Carlton Neal Johnson II opened fire at the Shoreline Plaza apartment complex (formerly Loring Towers) at 15 East Grant Street in downtown Minneapolis. The shooting began about 4:30 p.m. just outside the building’s entrance during an arranged child custody handoff, when Johnson shot and wounded a woman believed to be the mother of his child, said Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The child was not injured.
Johnson then shot two building employees on the first floor — one in critical condition — before taking an elevator to the ninth floor, where he lived alone. There, he shot and killed two building residents: Dale Henry Spry, 63, an Army veteran, and Muse A. Afrah, 61. Investigators said there was no indication Johnson was specifically targeting these residents.
According to AP News, Johnson was killed by police officers who raced into the building just 2 minutes and 26 seconds after the first call to the city’s 911 system. Mayor Jacob Frey detailed the rapid response, noting that dispatch had a squad car en route within 44 seconds of the call, and officers entered the building just 1 minute and 42 seconds after being dispatched.
“I’m truly sickened by this level of violence,” Interim Police Chief Bill Peterson said. “That feeling is tempered only by the courageous actions of the Minneapolis police officers, who responded without hesitation, confronted an extraordinarily dangerous situation and worked to end the violence and restore safety.”
A History of Threats
In Johnson’s building, he was known for his drinking, his anger and the pistol he kept tucked into his waistband. Resident Chris Miller said Johnson had shown him his pistol a few days before the shooting, saying he planned to shoot his ex-girlfriend and two building managers because of the eviction threat.
“As soon as I heard the shots I knew who it would be,” Miller told reporters. “He said, ‘I’m going to shoot people.’ He was very, very angry, drunk and mad.”
Court records reveal a pattern of escalating behavior dating back years. In 2012, Johnson violated a contact order relating to a domestic abuse case. In 2018, he was charged with physically assaulting his sister, during which he said he was “not afraid to shoot people in the face.” He pleaded guilty to destruction of property and was sentenced to probation.
In 2023, the mother of one of Johnson’s children filed a restraining order after he sent her more than 120 harassing and threatening text messages, including threats to kill her and the child. According to MPR News, the woman said Johnson used over 10 different cell phone numbers to contact her and repeatedly impersonated a police officer to try to coerce her into sharing her location.
Missed Opportunities
This year, the warning signs intensified. According to MPR News, the building’s management filed an eviction complaint against Johnson in June, citing multiple instances of violent and threatening behavior, including assaulting a resident, walking around the building with a gun “displayed on his person” to staff members, and telling residents he planned to kill someone.
On June 25, Minneapolis police investigated Johnson for displaying a weapon. Police determined he had a legal permit to carry and didn’t take the gun out of his waistband. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office declined to file charges, citing “insufficient evidence to prove a charge beyond a reasonable doubt.” The office also declined to pursue an extreme risk protection order under Minnesota’s red flag law.
A resident who lived a floor above Johnson filed a harassment restraining order against him in June, claiming he had been physically assaulted and threatened with a handgun. “I am afraid to enter and exit my apartment in fear for my safety and wellbeing,” the resident wrote. Johnson’s eviction trial was scheduled for September 11 — just nine days after the shooting.
Questions About the Red Flag Law
Experts and advocates are now asking why Minnesota’s red flag law — which allows law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily take someone’s firearms if they are believed to be a danger — was not used given Johnson’s extensive history of threats.
Defense attorney Joe Tamburino questioned why the county didn’t seek an emergency protection order after the June 25 incident. “What’s the harm? If you don’t get the order immediately, meaning the judge doesn’t sign off on the temporary order, you’ve really lost nothing,” Tamburino told CBS Minnesota. “In a situation like this, where you have clear history of someone who has at least had some type of, let’s face it, mental health problems with violence, with guns, why not do it?”
James Densley of Metro State University agreed. “There’s enough of a background to suggest, perhaps, it was worth putting two and two together, looking at the bigger picture of this, and looking at whether or not this could have gone to a court hearing to go to an extreme risk protection order, which may have saved lives in this particular case.”
Interim Police Chief Peterson defended the police response, noting that Johnson’s record prior to the recent incidents was largely driving violations and parking citations. “Hindsight is 20/20,” he said. “We’re dealing with these incidents and the large volume of cases that are coming in, and we’re trying to pick and choose which ones we investigate, how much time, energy and resources we commit to it.”
The Human Toll
The shooting has taken a profound toll on first responders and the community. Two officers — Joseph Michnowski, shot twice in the abdomen, and Yahye Ahmed, shot in the leg — were wounded in the exchange of gunfire. A third officer suffered cuts from glass. According to CBS Minnesota, Ahmed was released from the hospital Thursday, while Michnowski remained hospitalized and was expected to recover.
Doctors and gun violence prevention advocates gathered at Minneapolis City Hall on Friday to call for stricter gun laws. Tim Kummer, an emergency physician who responded to the shooting, noted the toll on medical staff. “Being back up here one year after Annunciation, knowing really nothing has changed, it does make me wonder: Do those who can make a change actually care about the toll that this takes on us?” Kummer said, as reported by MPR News. “None of us are okay.”
Family members of victim Dale Spry remembered him as a jokester and peacekeeper. “It just doesn’t make sense for him to be shot,” his nephew Kendall Coleman said, according to FOX 9. “I know Dale would have tried to help him instead of hurt him.”
What’s Next
State Sen. Scott Dibble said the tragedy demonstrates the need to strengthen Minnesota’s red flag law. “This tragedy tells us that we must strengthen that ERPO law, how it is used, make sure law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, families, communities have effective tools to intervene before threats become funerals.”
DFL legislators attempted to enact more gun legislation this year, but a bill that included new restrictions on assault-style weapons and “ghost guns” passed the Senate but failed in the House. Dibble said the Legislature will likely revisit gun laws this year.
The Shoreline Plaza complex, which had seen two men shot and killed in September 2025 and had generated over 1,000 911 calls in the past five years, now faces renewed scrutiny. Most residents have been allowed back into the building except those on the ninth floor, where the violence unfolded.
As the investigation continues, the central question remains: with so many warning signs, why wasn’t more done to prevent this tragedy?