Suspect in Downtown Minneapolis Mass Shooting Was Facing Eviction

Carlton Neal Johnson, 35, is believed responsible for a mass shooting Wednesday at a downtown Minneapolis apartment complex that killed two residents and injured six others, including three police officers, according to CBS News reporting. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office has not yet confirmed Johnson's identity. Johnson is believed to have died in an exchange of gunfire. The two residents killed were identified as 61-year-old Muse Afrah and 63-year-old Dale Henry Spry, per CBS News. Three police officers were injured: Officer Joseph Michnowski was shot twice in the stomach and remained hospitalized; Officer Yahye Ahmed was shot in the leg and was released from the hospital early Thursday afternoon; a third officer was injured by glass when he smashed the window of a locked squad car to disable its siren, CBS News reports. Another victim, Jan Peterson, a property manager at Shoreline Plaza Apartments, was shot and is expected to survive. Court documents show Johnson had been issued a formal eviction notice months before the shooting. He signed a lease at the Shoreline Plaza complex, formerly known as Loring Towers, on 15 East Grant Street in March 2025, per CBS News. On June 16, a law firm representing the apartment sent Johnson a letter informing him his lease would be terminated on June 29. The eviction notice listed six incidents starting in January, including an alleged assault on a resident in March, CBS News reports. Beginning in mid-June, Johnson displayed and discussed his firearm repeatedly in the building. On June 11, Johnson entered the management office and openly displayed a firearm to staff members, CBS News reports. Around the same time, Johnson made multiple statements to residents that he had obtained a new gun. Two days later, Johnson flashed his gun to people on a nearby sidewalk, CBS News reports. Management sent Johnson a letter instructing him not to display a gun to others on the building premises and to comply with Minnesota conceal and carry laws. Johnson requested a second chance. But the eviction complaint states that Johnson "continued to breach the lease and last chance directive," per CBS News. On June 19, Johnson made "concerning verbal statements" about using a gun to a security officer while lifting up his shirt and showing his firearm, CBS News reports. On June 25, Johnson walked around the block with his firearm visible and brandished a firearm at another resident in the common area. Police were called after the June 25 incident, and Johnson attempted to bribe staff to tell him who had called police, CBS News reports. Following the June 25 incident, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office investigated. According to CBS News, law enforcement said Johnson, who had a legal permit to carry, displayed the weapon but it did not leave his waistband. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office determined Johnson could not be charged due to insufficient evidence, per CBS News. Notably, the office did not use Minnesota's Red Flag law, which allows courts to remove guns from a person deemed a threat to themselves or others. However, CBS News reports that other courts did deem Johnson a threat. Johnson was also the subject of a restraining order filed by the mother of his child, a 27-year-old, according to CBS News. Between March 6, 2023 and March 10, 2023, Johnson sent over 120 text messages with "vulgar insults and threats" from ten different phone numbers to the mother of his child, CBS News reports. Johnson was evicted from his apartment earlier Wednesday, the day of the shooting, per CBS News. Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Bill Peterson said during a Wednesday news conference that police were familiar with the suspected shooter. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced it will specifically investigate the officers' use of force, according to CBS News.