Two weekend shootings at Minneapolis homeless encampments that killed three people and wounded three others may be connected, police said.
The first occurred shortly before 4:45 a.m. Saturday, Minneapolis police said in a statement. One man was killed, and two others were wounded.
On Sunday, another triple shooting occurred about 2:20 p.m. at an encampment along railroad tracks on the 4400 block between Hiawatha and Snelling avenues, police said in a different statement.
Two men were pronounced dead at the scene despite lifesaving efforts, police said.
“This is the second triple shooting at two separate homeless encampments in two days,” police said. “MPD has not ruled out the possibility that this shooting and the triple shooting that occurred on October 26th are related.”
A woman was also critically wounded, police said. Police did not provide details about her condition Monday.
Police said they were investigating the possibility of suspects who fled the Sunday shooting on foot. Three men were initially detained but were cleared and released.
Police said Monday afternoon there have been no arrests. The encampments are less than 4 miles apart in the same precinct.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told the media that, while violent crime is going down in areas of the city, violence in and near homeless encampments has escalated. He blamed the surge on fentanyl and called the shootings “incredibly tragic and sad.”
"This is not about a lack of shelter, not even, most of the time, about a lack of housing, the issues that we’re seeing in terms of crime and violence — it’s about fentanyl,” Frey said. “It is about a drug that takes ahold of your body and your mind like nothing that we’ve ever seen before.”
Synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, were responsible for almost 70% of the deaths of more than 107,000 people from drug overdoses last year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Deven Leonard Caston, 31, was identified as the man killed Saturday, according to a report from the medical examiner.
Caston died in a homicide from multiple gunshot wounds, the report said.
Louis Lemons Jr., 32, and Christopher Washington, 38, died Sunday from multiple gunshot wounds, the medical examiner said.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara called the shootings "outrageous" and bemoaned in a statement that encampments were not safe.
“The cold-blooded killing of three people inside the tent of an encampment is outrageous,” he said. “All human life matters and encampments are not safe."
"To help end this cycle of violence that is exacerbated by narcotics and mental health issues, it is crucial that the residents of these encampments accept the resources that are available," O’Hara said.