The Minneapolis police officer gunned down in an ambush-style attack was killed while trying to help the suspect, who initially pretended to be a victim in need of help during Thursday’s mass shooting, according to officials.
Officer Jamal Mitchell, 28, responded to a reported shooting inside an apartment in the city’s trendy Whittier neighborhood and ran out of his car to aid the shooting victims, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said in a press conference late Thursday.
But the man he had he was rushing to help wound up being the suspect, who fatally shot the “courageous hero” who was only trying to help.
Mitchell — who had been with the department for “less than two years” — was shot about a block and a half away from where the original call of the mass shooting was reported.
A second officer then exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who was shot dead at the scene.
Both officers were transported to Hennepin County Medical Center, where Mitchell died of his injuries, according to officials.
The second officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was released.
“Today the City of Minneapolis lost a courageous hero,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement.
“Officer Jamal Mitchell was a father, a son, a fiancé, and a beloved member of our Minneapolis Police Department. Today, he made the ultimate sacrifice to protect and save the lives of others. His life, his service and his name will forever be remembered in the City of Minneapolis.”
“Our hearts go out to Officer Mitchell’s family and loved ones, to the families of the victims of this senseless tragedy and to the members of our extraordinary police department who are grieving.”
