Minneapolis Police Officer Shot While Pursuing Robbery Suspects

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Four people have been arrested after a shooting sent a Minneapolis police officer to the hospital Friday night, authorities said.

The shooting happened as the officer was following a car that matched the description of a vehicle that had been involved in a robbery and fled from police earlier. Shots were fired from the vehicle after the officer had been following it in his unmarked police vehicle.

Police Chief Brian O’Hara described it as an ambush, saying the officer suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder and that several other rounds hit his vehicle.

"Looking at the car, listening to the gunfire — it truly is a blessing he is still here with us,” O’Hara said during a news conference late Friday. “That particular block, the way it’s set up — with a hillcrest, on a grade and on a curve — is quite frankly a perfect area for somebody to be ambushed.”

The vehicle fled from police again and eventually crashed before authorities were able to take the four suspects into custody. They included two men, a woman and a teenage boy.

The officer, a seven-year veteran, was released from the hospital early Saturday.

The police chief said the shooting "underscores the incredible courage, bravery — and truly the restraint of our officers as they face incredible challenges today.”

Tensions have been high since the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Floyd’s death sparked mass protests around the world and resulted in an overhaul within the Minneapolis Police Department.