Photo Credit: Kristin Hassel / OpGov News - Shoreline Apartment Victims
(MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) – Emergency services received the first call to Shoreline Plaza Apartments on 15 East Grant Street in downtown Minneapolis on September 2 at 4:36 p.m. What started outside over a custody dispute quickly escalated.
The shooter was identified as Carlton Neal Johnson II (35), a tenant of the building. Frequent threat allegations led the Apartments to order his eviction. At the eviction proceedings, Johnson continued to deny the claims. He was scheduled to appear in court on September 11.
His initial target was thought to be ex-girlfriend Nyemuoch Gatkuoth Pal (33). Johnson shot Pal in the leg during a custody exchange of their five-year-old daughter, after which he proceeded into Shoreline Apartments and fired at people indiscriminately, fatally wounding Dale Henry Spry (63) and Muse A. Afrah (61).
According to police, Johnson also shot Property Manager Jan Elaine Peterson (56), who remains in critical but stable condition, and wounded Officers Josephy Michnowski and Yahye Ahmed before being fatally shot by Officer Liban Ibrahim. Investigators have yet to determine if any other Officers fired weapons.
Video Credit: YouTube / CBS Texas
The gunman had previously assaulted another resident on the premises in March. Then, on June 11, he walked around the apartments with his gun clearly visible, displaying it to several management personnel.
Johnson allegedly made statements that he had a new gun and “would kill someone.” Two days later, on June 13, he openly displayed his gun to people on a nearby sidewalk. That same month, an unidentified tenant asked the court for a restraining order against Johnson, after claiming that he assaulted him and threatened him with a handgun.
In the restraining order application, the tenant said he was “afraid to enter and exit my apartment in fear for my safety and well-being.” The incident was also reported to the Minneapolis Police Department and assigned to a civilian investigator.
The Department said Johnson had a legal permit to carry the weapon, and while he did display it, it never left his waistband. In the end, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office decided not to press charges against Johnson, stating there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove the charges “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Minneapolis Interim Police Chief Bill Peterson defended the choice, saying, “It’s not like this strung out for years. That was not the case with this incident.” Despite the incident with his sibling not spanning years, Johnson has a well-documented history of violent behavior, including physically assaulting his sister in 2018 (Case #: 02-CR-18-5647).
Photo Credit: Facebook / Carlton Neal Johnson II
In her criminal complaint, his sister told police that the suspect “started talking about guns, hinted that he had one in the car and how he wasn’t afraid to shoot people in the face.” He denied the assault and threats, but pled guilty to destruction of property and was sentenced to one year of probation. Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans was less forgiving of the oversight of Johnson’s prior behavior.
“This is once again a situation where domestic violence is central to a really terrible situation with multiple people shot.” Evans said during a press conference after the shooting, “The role that domestic violence continues to play in mass casualty incidents continues to be a problem that we need to figure out as a society.”*
If you or someone you know in Minnesota is suffering abuse or being threatened with violence, don't forget you have help options. If you live outside the state, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
To add to or correct any information in this report, please contact me at kristin.h@lead4earth.org.
*Quote has been edited for clarity.
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