Man found shot in alley adds to recent surge of homicides in Minneapolis

A man found shot in a south Minneapolis alley early Wednesday became the latest victim in a sudden surge of killings after what had been a relatively peaceful start to the year.

The victim was identified as Michael Leonel Barreto, a 29-year-old Richfield man, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner.

Police were dispatched about 1:50 a.m. to the area of E. Lake Street and 17th Avenue S. on a report of gunshots heard about 20 minutes earlier, police said. The officers arrived and saw Barreto down in the alley north of 3016 17th Av. S. with a gunshot wound, according to police.

"This man was left for dead in an alley," Police Chief Brian O'Hara said in a statement. "We cannot, and will not, stand by and tolerate this kind of violence in our city."

The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest, the Medical Examiner's Office determined.

O'Hara, who is in Washington, D.C., for National Police Week, was unavailable for an interview, a police spokesperson said.

The city has seen 11 killings in the past 2½ weeks, according to a Minnesota Star Tribune database. Of the 11, nine occurred in a section of south Minneapolis running from Pillsbury Avenue on the west to Cedar Avenue on the east, and from Lake Street on the south to Franklin Avenue on the north.

The shooting took place in the alley just south of a section of Lake Street lined with several bakeries, restaurants and stores.

Victor Romero, owner of Panaderia San Miguel bakery, said he was unaware of the shooting near his store. But he added that the sound of gunshots has become somewhat common, especially each summer. His store's main problem has been people stealing baked goods and coffee, he said. Still, he has no plans to relocate.

"There's a lot of shootings in this area, and it does make us kind of scared," Romero said. "But we have been in the business for 20-some years. We don't have a choice [but to stay]."

Candy Gama, the owner of the Pasteleria Gama bakery, said she saw someone steal a police car and almost crash across the street from her business.

"It's scary, it's dangerous, but we have nowhere else to go," she said. "Every day it's something different."

A worker at a nearby Marathon gas station said she had heard at least three shootings in the past three days. The employees added that they feel safer while working because they have a security guard who also manages the tobacco shop attached to the gas station.

"I'm only sometimes scared when I drive away after work towards Bloomington [Avenue]," said Blanca Pinos, the gas station manager.

After a nearly two-month lull, the tally of fatal shootings took off when four people in a vehicle were fatally shot April 29 in south Minneapolis.

The next afternoon, Tiago Antonio Gilbert, 34, of Minneapolis was shot to death in an act that officials suspect was meant to be retaliation for the previous night's killings. Three men have been charged in Gilbert's death.

There have been 21 homicides in Minneapolis so far this year, about level with the 22 homicides in the city at this time last year.

The recent burst of killings followed an extended lull, when Minneapolis went 62 days without a homicide — starting Feb. 15 and ending the night of April 18, when Zakaria A. Noor, 23, of Oakdale was shot near the downtown intersection of 5th Avenue and 9th Street S.

It was one of the longest gaps between homicides in recent history. The last year that came close was 2017, when there were 45 days without a homicide between January and March.

The absence of killings prompted O'Hara to call it a much-needed win for a city that's endured a long spike in shootings since the pandemic and the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020.

The chief attributed the recent positive trends to his department's efforts and partnerships with community organizations, residents and other agencies.

In a news conference that followed Gilbert's death, O'Hara acknowledged the frustration of seeing the relative peace shattered, and said it shows that "progress is fragile,"

In the early afternoon following Wednesday's alleyway shooting, a team of outreach workers were assisting people experiencing homelessness on Lake Street. Anna Bloomstrand, a manager for Ingebretsen's Scandinavian Gifts & Foods store, said she's pleased to see social workers in the neighborhood and that it's important to view public safety in the context of larger issues such as addiction and homelessness.

"We need a lot more coordination around the teams of people who are doing work on the street, along with community input and how that all interplays, but it's always hard when there's violence," she said.