1 dead, 6 injured after 'war zone' shooting at Boom Island Park near downtown Minneapolis

Tim Harlow and Paul Walsh, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jun 2, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — A woman was killed and five men were wounded by gunfire in a nighttime shooting at a popular Mississippi River park near downtown Minneapolis.

Police caution tape was strung up around Boom Island Park early Monday, and evidence markers dotted the scene of the city’s second mass shooting in recent weeks.

One of the men shot was in critical condition, according to the Minneapolis Police Department. A woman was also treated for minor injuries inflicted during the mayhem, but was not struck by gunfire.

“It’s more akin to a war zone with the amount of shell casings that the officers are recovering here,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a morning media briefing near the explosion of gunfire.

The woman who was fatally shot was in a vehicle at the time, then taken to HCMC, where she died, according to police.

Police said there have been no arrests, and the victims are cooperating with the investigation.

At least 100 people were still in the park when officers arrived, O’Hara said, calling it “a very extensive crime scene.”

The large-scale shooting brought the city its first homicide in more than two weeks, according to a Minnesota Star Tribune database. There have now been 23 homicides in the city so far this year compared with 32 at this time last year.

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board spokeswoman Dawn Sommers said Monday afternoon that there were no gatherings with permits in the park Sunday night.

“The gathering was just a public group and not part of any event or tied to any organization,” Sommers said.

At mid-morning Monday, police tape still cordoned off a large swath of Boom Island’s parking lot near Plymouth Avenue. Officers continued to patrol, while a pair of Fire Department rigs were on the scene as firefighters hosed down the parking lot.

Mayor Jacob Frey posted on social media late Monday morning that “the shooting at Boom Island Park last night was completely unacceptable. My heart is with the victims and their loved ones today.”

“This week, we’re launching Operation Safe Summer — a coordinated effort with law enforcement partners at every level to prevent violence and keep people safe. We’re going to keep working with our partners to keep incidents like this rare."

O’Hara said there was some type of gathering at the park, “possibly a barbecue or something else. We believe there was more than one shooter here at the scene, but I can’t elaborate further than that.”

The chief said the gunfire has left “literally hundreds of pieces of evidence” for investigators to assess.

“I don’t know what can motivate people to come armed to a gathering like this in the way that they did,” O’Hara said.

At one hospital where victims were being treated, commotion among people outside required police crowd control, the chief said.

In 2022, seven people were shot on Boom Island, and fireworks were shot at residential buildings and moving cars. A resident near the park estimated that up to 1,000 people were there at one point, with the large majority of people having left before the gunfire began.

For July 4th in 2023, the Park Board closed the Stone Arch Bridge, which spans the river to the south, to discourage such behavior. Even so, law enforcement still responded to violent incidents around the city that night, including several shootings and groups of people brazenly shooting fireworks at motorists.

Sunday’s shooting was at least the second mass shooting in the city in the past five weeks. In late April, in the 1500 block of E. 25th Street, three people were shot and two others wounded. Charged in that shooting was 34-year-old James Duane Ortley, who’s accused of opening fire inside a parked vehicle.

Police urged anyone with information about Sunday night’s shooting to contact them by email at policetips@minneapolismn.gov or by calling 612-673-5845. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by contacting CrimeStoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or at CrimeStoppersMN.org.

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—Louis Krauss of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.