Police named the suspect in a Minneapolis shooting that left two people dead and three police officers wounded as Carlton Neal Johnson II on Sept. 3.
Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said that Johnson, 35, is "believed to be" the suspect in the shooting, but added that the bureau is waiting on confirmation from the medical examiner's office.
Evans said during a Sept. 3 news conference that the medical examiner confirmed that Johnson died "in an exchange of gunfire" with police.
The shooting took place in a downtown Minneapolis high-rise Sept. 2, where Evans confirmed the suspect had an apartment on the 9th floor. Evans said the first shots were fired outside of the building during a "custody exchange"
for a child Johnson had with a woman from a prior relationship. She was also shot.
Evans identified the two people killed in the shooting as 63-year-old Dale H. Spry and 61-year-old Muse A. Afrah. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said both were believed to have been residents of the building.
The three civilians who were injured in the shooting are being treated, but Evans did not provide further updates on their conditions. Evans identified two police officers who were injured by gunfire as Minneapolis Police Department Officers Joseph Michnowski and Yahye Ahmed. He did not identify the third police officer.
Here's what we know about Carlton Neal Johnson II.
What we know about Carlton Neal Johnson II
Johnson was in the process of being evicted from Shoreline Plaza, the building the shooting took place in, formerly known as Loring Towers, according to court records. The complaint from the building's ownership, filed in June, alleged behaviors from Johnson that included walking around the premises with a gun displayed, making statements to neighbors that he would kill someone and assaulting a resident.
The complaint alleges six incidents of Johnson breaking his lease this year.
Derrick Thompson, who recently moved out of the building, told The Minnesota Star Tribune that Johnson had had a child custody dispute and recently obtained a permit to carry.
“He was fighting people every day, every damn day," Thompson said.
Johnson denied assaulting any other residents and claimed he “never threatened to kill or harm any person with the handgun,” according to his response in the complaint. He said he had a license to carry a gun and had purchased one legally. He also pointed to a Minnesota state statute that says "a landlord may not restrict the lawful carry or possession of firearms by tenants or their guests."
The case was open at the time of the shooting.
Bill Peterson, interim chief of the Minneapolis police, said at a news conference on Sept. 2 that the department was "familiar with" Johnson. Police were called to the building in June after the suspect allegedly threatened residents with a weapon, Peterson said.
Contributing: Michael Loria, Jeanine Santucci/ USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Minneapolis shooting: What we know about the suspect









