Wounded Minneapolis officer ‘targeted for doing his job,’ police say

Police say a Minneapolis police officer who was shot and wounded Saturday morning was “targeted for doing his job.”

The officer and his partner had just finished handling a call before 5 a.m. when he was shot outside his police car, Assistant Chief Matt Clark said at an afternoon news conference.

The injured officer’s partner drove him to the hospital, according to a statement from police. Clark said the officer, whose name has not been released, is in fair condition.

After the shooting, the residence was surrounded by a SWAT team and other officers. Andrew Neal, 43, was arrested on suspicion of probation violation, probable cause of burglary and probable cause of domestic aggravated assault.

Police did not identify him as the gunman, but said Neal’s arrest was related to the call Saturday morning.

“There is little doubt that an officer was the intended target of this shooting and that this officer just happened to be the one who was there,” Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau said in a statement on the department’s Facebook page. “This is a reminder to all that every one of our officers face such danger simply because they choose to wear a uniform.”

The shooting comes two months after two New York City police officers were shot and killed as they sat in their police car. The gunman, who committed suicide, had posted threats on Instagram, saying, “I’m putting wings on pigs today. They take 1 of ours, let’s take 2 of theirs.”

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