MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Carlton Neal Johnson II, 35, opened fire inside a downtown Minneapolis apartment complex on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, killing two people, wounding four civilians, and injuring three police officers before dying at the scene — on the same day he was formally evicted from his ninth-floor unit.
Multiple law enforcement sources identified Johnson as the gunman at Shoreline Plaza, formerly known as Loring Towers, at 15 East Grant St. Court documents obtained by multiple news outlets show that building management had been trying to remove Johnson since June, citing at least six separate incidents involving threats, assault, and the repeated display of a firearm. Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Bill Peterson said investigators were already “familiar” with Johnson but declined to confirm his identity publicly. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is leading the investigation and was scheduled to provide an update Thursday afternoon.
Minneapolis police received the first 911 call at approximately 4:36 p.m. reporting a shooting inside the high-rise. Additional callers reported more gunfire within minutes. Officers arrived at 4:39 p.m. and found one victim dead inside the building and several others suffering from gunshot wounds. They followed the sound of ongoing gunfire to an upper floor, where they encountered what Peterson described as a “haze” that severely limited their visibility. Three officers were injured during a confrontation with the suspect on that floor. One officer was shot twice in the stomach and underwent surgery Wednesday evening. A second officer was shot in the leg, and a third sustained a non-life-threatening injury. Four additional officers were evaluated after being exposed to an unknown airborne substance. Seven patients in total were transported to Hennepin County Medical Center; one of them was later pronounced dead there, bringing the civilian death toll to two. Peterson called the response by his officers “absolutely heroic,” saying they ran toward gunfire while others fled.
Johnson had signed a lease at the complex in March 2025, according to court records. His troubled history at the building began almost immediately. In January, property managers documented him disturbing neighbors by getting into a loud argument and repeatedly knocking on a resident’s door. On March 23, he allegedly assaulted another resident on the premises. The situation escalated sharply in June. On June 11, Johnson walked around the building with his firearm openly displayed, then entered the management office and showed the weapon to multiple staff members. That same day, he told other residents he had obtained a new gun and, according to court filings, said he “would kill someone.” Two days later, on June 13, he was seen flashing the firearm at people on a nearby sidewalk. The building’s law firm sent Johnson a lease termination letter on June 16, informing him his tenancy would end June 29. Johnson contacted management and asked for a second chance. Management agreed to let him stay, on the condition that he no longer display any weapon on the premises and comply with Minnesota concealed carry law. The arrangement did not hold.
On June 19, Johnson made what court filings describe as “concerning verbal statements” about using a gun to a security officer while lifting his shirt to reveal the firearm. On June 25, he again walked around the block with the weapon visible and allegedly brandished it at another resident in a common area. Police were called. According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, officers determined Johnson, who held a valid permit to carry, had not removed the weapon from his waistband, and prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence to charge him at that time. Court documents also show Johnson contacted apartment staff and attempted to find out who had called police. The formal eviction complaint was eventually filed, and a court hearing was scheduled for Sept. 11. Sources told WCCO that Johnson was formally evicted on the morning of Sept. 2 — the same day as the shooting. Beyond the eviction proceedings, records from the Minnesota Star Tribune show Johnson was linked to 34 criminal cases in the Twin Cities area, the majority being traffic violations, but including two assault charges, two misdemeanor drug cases, and a 2012 guilty plea for violating a contact order in a domestic abuse case.
Johnson’s pattern of behavior extended beyond the apartment complex. Court documents show that the 27-year-old mother of his child sought a restraining order against him after he sent her more than 120 text messages containing vulgar insults and threats from 10 different phone numbers over a four-day span in March 2023. A 2018 incident detailed by Fox 9 showed Johnson was accused of assaulting a sibling and hinting he had a gun and was “not afraid to shoot people in the face.” He pleaded guilty to destruction of property in that case, served four days in jail, and was placed on probation. The sentencing judge noted at the time that Johnson appeared to have “anger issues.” Neighbors who spoke to the Minneapolis Star Tribune described a man in visible distress in the days before the shooting. Resident Derrick Thompson, who had recently moved out of the complex, said Johnson was involved in a child custody dispute, had recently had his car repossessed, and was “fighting people every day.” Another neighbor, Chris Miller, said Johnson had spoken to him earlier in the week about plans to shoot his ex-girlfriend and two building property managers, and that Miller had emailed management to warn them days before the tragedy.
Moments before the shooting, Johnson allegedly grabbed a female resident in a hallway on the ninth floor as she was walking with her young daughter. The woman, who was not identified by name, told Fox 9 that Johnson told her he was going to kill the mother of his child and that she would witness it. She said Johnson then released her, telling her she “didn’t deserve this” because she had “always prayed” for him. She said she left the building, and when she returned, the shooting had already occurred. Police have not announced any additional suspects or confirmed whether any of Johnson’s stated targets were among the victims. The identities of the two civilians killed have not been released by authorities. A motive has not been officially established. The investigation is being conducted jointly by the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Mayor Jacob Frey credited officers with limiting the death toll, saying that without their “heroic work, the death toll would have been higher.”
As of Thursday, the two officers shot during the confrontation were expected to make full recoveries, according to city officials, who scheduled a separate briefing at 3 p.m. to update the public on the conditions of all injured officers. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s Thursday afternoon update was the next scheduled milestone in the official investigation, with no charges expected given that the suspected shooter died at the scene.
