Neighbors Describe Terrifying Threats by Alleged Minneapolis Gunman

The man suspected of killing two people at a Minneapolis apartment building on Wednesday had been facing eviction after allegedly making frightening threats toward neighbors in the months before the shooting.

Carlton Johnson II, 35, was ordered in June to leave his ninth-floor apartment at Loring Towers, but he was contesting the eviction, according to court records obtained by Our News Outlet.

Those filings outline what property managers described as a troubling pattern of violence and intimidation, including an alleged assault on another resident inside the Minneapolis affordable housing complex.

Johnson has been named in multiple reports as the shooter, although Minneapolis police have not formally identified the suspect. Court documents also allege that, months before the attack, he threatened to kill someone.

Property managers said Johnson’s behavior began escalating in January, when he allegedly disturbed residents during a loud argument and repeatedly knocked on a neighbor’s door.

On March 23, Johnson allegedly assaulted a resident on the property. By June, according to the complaint, he had begun openly carrying a firearm around the building.

The incident that appeared to prompt the eviction push came on June 11, when Johnson was allegedly seen walking through the complex with his gun before entering the management office, where the complaint says he waved the firearm in front of several staff members.

That same day, Johnson allegedly told other residents he had obtained a new gun and “would kill someone.”

Two days later, Johnson was also seen flashing his gun to others on the sidewalk. 

But after receiving the eviction order, Johnson told property managers he would comply with the lease agreement moving forward, and the landlord allowed him to stay so long as he agreed to no longer display his gun or any other weapon. 

Johnson, who died at the scene of the shooting on Wednesday, was due to appear in court for an eviction proceeding on September 11. 

A motive for the shooting remained unclear, though Minneapolis police said they were ‘familiar’ with the suspect.

Shoreline Plaza resident Chris Miller told the Minneapolis Star Tribune the suspect told him earlier in the week how he planned to shoot his ex-girlfriend and two building property managers.

He further claimed he emailed building management, warning them of Johnson’s remarks just days before the tragedy.

Miller went on to explain how he first met Johnson when Miller moved into the building a couple of months ago, and that on a couple of occasions, he showed Miller his handgun and his concealed carry permit.

Miller also noted that the gunman lived alone and had at least a couple of kids who did not live with him, but was mad about a recent breakup.

‘He was very, very angry, drunk and mad,’ said Miller.

Derrick Thompson, who had just moved out of the complex, also told the outlet how he would regularly see Johnson outside drinking.

He said the suspect was involved in a child custody dispute, and his car was recently repossessed.

‘He was fighting people every day, every damn day,’ Thompson lamented. ‘He lost everything.’ 

Then just moments before the shooting, another resident claims, Johnson said he was going to kill the mother of his child.

The unidentified woman told Fox 6 she was taking her young daughter to get some food when she encountered the gunman on the ninth floor.

‘I was already in the building when he grabbed me and said, “I’m going to kill my baby mama and you’re going to witness it,” and I’m like, “Let me go and quit playing with me,”‘ she recounted.

Johnson then decided to let go of her, saying: ‘You know what, I’m [going to] let you go for the simple fact that you don’t deserve this. You always pray for me. You always keep me uplifted.’

Still, the woman said, he vowed to kill the mother of his child ‘and I said “quit playing.”‘

‘Next thing you know, I come back, we can’t get in the building. He did it.’

Minneapolis police first received a call at 4.36pm  that one person had been shot at Loring Towers, spokesman Sgt Garrett Parten said at a news conference.

Soon, other calls came in reporting additional gunfire.

When police then arrived at the scene at 4.39pm, they found one victim dead and several others suffering from gunshot wounds.

Police then followed the sound of gunfire to an upper floor, where they were confronted by a ‘haze’ that severely limited their visibility as officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect.

Two officers were shot in the exchange, one in the stomach and the other in the leg, while a third sustained a non-life threatening injury. They were all expected to make full recoveries.

The suspect was then killed at the scene, but it remains unclear whether he died in a police-involved shooting or turned the weapon on himself.

Meanwhile, officers went unit by unit evacuating residents and searching for any other victims.

In total, seven patients were rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center, one of whom was later pronounced dead, spokesman Jonathan Comito said.

At a news conference Wednesday night, Interim Police Chief Bill Peterson said he was ‘sickened’ by the tragedy.

‘It’s truly sickening that in my career, 31 years here, that is the third incident like this that has happened,’ he said. 

‘But our officers have shown that they are willing and they do respond towards gunfire when others are running from it, and it’s absolutely heroic.’

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also commended the police officers, saying if it was not for their ‘heroic work, the death toll would be higher.’ 

The Minneapolis Police Department and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are now continuing to investigate the tragedy.