MINNEAPOLIS - Minneapolis police are asking the public for information about an early Wednesday shooting that they are investigating as a possible hate crime.
The victims, who were treated for gunshot wounds and released, were on their way to a mosque and clearly dressed in Islamic attire when they were attacked, according to the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The shooting happened shortly before 2:30 a.m. Wednesday in the area of 14th Avenue Southeast and Sixth Street Southeast, according to a statement Thursday from the Mineapolis Police Department.
Officers who responded to a report of shots fired in the area found no one injured and no suspects, but soon learned that two people had arrived at the nearby University of Minnesota Medical Center with gunshot wounds.
“This is being investigated as a bias-motivated crime,” the department said in the statement.
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The department did not specify why it is investigating the case as bias-motivated, but the Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota said the victims were Somali and the attacker “allegedly made disparaging remarks about Muslims before opening fire.”
